Ralphs Grocery Company has marked six years of ending hunger in the communities it calls home and eliminating waste across the company by 2025 with its Zero Hunger | Zero Waste social impact strategy. Last year, the Kroger-owned Ralphs and Food 4 Less/Foods Co. families of stores donated 22,700,000 meals and reused, recycled, or composted 81% of waste.

To create meaningful collective action to feed people and protect the planet and as one of five companies nationwide to win the Go Fresh & Local Supplier Accelerator program, this month Ralphs is rolling out The Ugly Company (a farmer-led producer of upcycled dried fruit snacks) across shelves in Southern California to forge a future with less hunger and waste together.   

“More than 38% of the food produced in the U.S. each year goes unconsumed, while one in five Californians struggle with hunger. That just doesn’t make sense,” says Salvador Ramirez, corporate affairs manager at Ralphs and Food 4 Less/Foods Co. “As our community's neighborhood grocer, we are committed to doing something about it and are excited to welcome The Ugly Company to our stores to further our impact to cut waste.”

Headquartered in Farmersville, CA, The Ugly Company prevents food waste by transforming imperfect fruit into all-natural, single-ingredient dried fruit snacks. In 2022, the business prevented 2.17 million pounds of fruit from being wasted and has already rescued 3.24 million pounds of food waste to date this year. With The Ugly Company’s upcycled cherries, peaches, nectarines, and apricots now available at 184 Ralphs stores across Southern California, the duo continue their stewardship of creating a future with less hunger and waste together.

“The partnership with Ralphs aligns perfectly with our shared mission to create a more sustainable food system,” says Ben Moore, founder and CEO of The Ugly Company. “By working together, we can make a significant impact in minimizing waste while supporting our local farmers in the Central Valley. We're excited to bring our brand to a wider audience of shoppers!"

To honor organizations dedicated to sustainability and reducing food waste, The Ugly Company and grocery retailer jointly donated $5000 to Californians Against Waste, a non-profit that works to reduce pollution, reduce waste, increase recycling, and protect the environment.

Kroger’s Go Fresh & Local Supplier Accelerator launched in 2021 with the goal of highlighting small growers and retailers in the grocery space. With more than 1,600 supplier applications to the 2022 program, 15 finalists were selected to participate in a pitch competition to earn a spot in Kroger’s coveted initiative.

The finalists traveled to Cincinnati for the pitch competition, which was judged by executives from various Kroger business lines. The Ugly Company was one of five standout small businesses to be named as 2022 Go Fresh & Local Accelerator Winner.