RALEIGH, N.C., Aug. 24, 2015 – The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR), the nation’s largest traditional grocery retailer with 14 stores throughout the Triangle and North Carolina, has announced that two local students have been named 2015 Kroger Scholars. Each student will receive $1,000 to assist with educational expenses for the upcoming school year.

A program of The Kroger Co. Foundation, Kroger Scholars is open to children of associates across the Kroger family of stores. Funds can be used at an accredited two- or four-year college, university or vocational program. Since 2008, Kroger has provided more than $2.2 million in scholarship awards to more than 2,200 associate families.

For the 2015-2016 school year, 352 students will receive Kroger Scholars awards. The two students selected from the Triangle are as follows:

- Dhaval Patel: A graduate of Sanderson High School in Raleigh, North Carolina, Dhaval Patel will begin his first year at UNC Charlotte this fall, where he will study business management and accounting. He is currently a Kroger associate as is his mother, Himani Patel, a 19-year employee of Kroger. Both Dhaval and his mother work at the Raleigh store located at 8345 Creedmoor Road.

- Sindoos Awel: A graduate of Wake Forest High School in Wake Forest, North Carolina, Sindoos Awel will begin her first year at Emory University this fall. She is the daughter of Areb Awel Shiraga, a 16-year employee of Kroger working at the Raleigh store located at 350 Six Forks Road.

QUOTES:

“The Kroger Scholars program is a wonderful opportunity to give back to the families of our associates by helping ease educational expenses for their children pursuing higher education,” said Anne Jenkins, spokesperson for Kroger’s Mid-Atlantic Division. “We are very proud of Dhaval and Sindoos for their accomplishments, and we are so happy to be able to assist them and their families in this way. We wish each of them the very best of luck as they begin the new school year.”

ABOUT KROGER:

Kroger, the nation’s largest traditional grocery retailer, has 14 stores throughout the Triangle, including Apex (1), Cary (1), Garner (1), Fuquay-Varina (1), Raleigh (4) and Durham (6). Headquartered in Cincinnati, the company employs nearly 400,000 associates who serve customers in 2,625 supermarkets and multi-department stores in 34 states and the District of Columbia under two dozen local banner names including Kroger, City Market, Dillons, Food 4 Less, Fred Meyer, Fry's, Harris Teeter, Jay C, King Soopers, QFC, Ralphs and Smith's. The company also operates 782 convenience stores, 326 fine jewelry stores, 1,330 supermarket fuel centers and 37 food processing plants in the U.S. Recognized by Forbes as the most generous company in America, Kroger supports hunger relief, breast cancer awareness, the military and their families, and more than 30,000 schools and community organizations. Kroger contributes food and funds equal to 200 million meals a year through more than 100 Feeding America food bank partners. A leader in supplier diversity, Kroger is a proud member of the Billion Dollar Roundtable and the U.S. Hispanic Chamber's Million Dollar Club. For more information, please visit http://www.kroger.com.

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