Fred Meyer expands organics recycling program chainwide
Fred Meyer Stores is supporting stores across the Pacific Northwest with a platform that helps prevent unsold food from reaching landfills.
The grocer, a subsidiary of The Kroger Co., has been partnering with Divert since 2018 to utilize its proprietary process to prevent unsold food from going to the landfill, while keeping microplastics out of the soil.
In addition, Divert collects actionable store-level data from its bins in Fred Meyer stores, providing the retailer with increased visibility into opportunities to reduce waste and improve food recovery efforts. Utilizing Divert’s data, Fred Meyer is able to identify patterns in unsold inventory, optimize ordering, and also improve donation opportunities to feed people in need.
“At Fred Meyer, we are committed to sustainability and ending food waste,” said Todd Kammeyer, president of Fred Meyer. “Our new partnership with Divert is a significant step forward in our journey towards a more sustainable future. By integrating Divert's cutting-edge food recycling technology into our stores, we are making it easier to reduce waste in our stores.”
In 2024, the program prevented more than 5.4 million pounds of unsold food products from Fred Meyer reaching the landfill. Now, with Divert's organics recycling program implemented across all 105 Fred Meyer stores in Washington and Oregon, the grocer is further accelerating its environmental and social efforts.
“Fred Meyer and Kroger have been valued customers of Divert for many years, and we are proud to expand our collaboration to further advance the impact of our food diversion and recovery efforts,” said Ben Kuethe Oaks, VP and GM, retail, Divert. “With Divert now supporting Fred Meyer across its entire store network, we are bringing increased visibility to each and every store–unlocking new opportunities for waste prevention, food donations, as well as operational efficiencies that drive meaningful cost and time savings.”
Fred Meyer also partners with Loop, a circular reuse platform developed by TerraCycle, to provide an assortment of more than 20 products from leading consumer brands packaged in reusable containers at select stores it the Portland metro area.
[READ MORE: Kroger rolls out sustainable packaging at select Fred Meyer stores]
The retailer’s parent company Kroger operates a variety of sustainability and anti-hunger initiatives as part of its broader Zero Hunger | Zero Waste program. In 2018, the company launched a Zero Hunger | Zero Waste effort to eliminate single-use plastic bags chainwide by 2025.
Fred Meyer Stores is a banner of The Kroger Co. operating 132 multi-department stores across Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
