KROGER AND MILK-BONE DONATE POLICE DOGS AND CANINE ASSISTANCE DOGS IN 11 COMMUNITIES
Partnership Benefits Physically Disabled and Local Law Enforcement Agencies

CINCINNATI, OH, July 23, 2002 -- The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) and Milk-Bone brand dog biscuits recently teamed up to sponsor a canine-related charity program for the benefit of individuals with physical disabilities and local police departments in 12 communities around the country. A total of 11 dogs were donated to disabled individuals and local police departments.

Canine Assistance Program

Kroger and Milk-Bone donated six service dogs through Canine Assistants, a non-profit organization that trains and provides service dogs for children and adults with physical disabilities or other special needs. The service dogs donated by Kroger and Milk-Bone, a corporate sponsor of Canine Assistants, were given to children and adults with various disabilities in Atlanta, Richmond, Memphis, Louisville, Wichita and Phoenix. Customer purchases of Milk-Bone products from participating Kroger, Dillon and Fry’s stores helped make the donation possible. Training costs for Canine Assistance dogs can exceed $10,000.

“Kroger is proud to partner with Milk-Bone brand dog biscuits in sponsoring the Canine Assistants program,” said Don McGeorge, Kroger executive vice president. “These service dogs are instrumental in removing many of the barriers faced by disabled individuals in today's society.”

Milk-Bone Police Dog Donation Program

Kroger and Milk-Bone also teamed up to sponsor the donation of dogs for five local law enforcement canine units through the Milk-Bone Police Dog program. Communities that benefited from the donation are: The Cincinnati Police Department; The Craig (CO) Police Department; The Danville (IN) Police Department, which lost its dog earlier this year in a traffic accident; The Houston Police Department; and The Columbus (OH) Police Department. In addition, the Ann Arbor (MI) Police Department used a donation from Kroger and Milk-Bone to purchase special Kevlar vests to protect their existing canine unit. Milk-Bone purchases from participating Kroger and King Soopers stores helped make the canine officer donation possible.

“The Milk-Bone Police Dog Donation program helps local law enforcement agencies add highly trained dogs at no cost to taxpayers. Since these police dogs can cost more than $5,000 each, this program is often the only way a canine unit can add a dog without exceeding its annual budget. Kroger is proud to join with Milk-Bone in support of these programs,” Mr. McGeorge said.

Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Kroger is one of the nation’s largest retail grocery chains. At the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2002, the Company (either directly or through its subsidiaries) operated 2,429 supermarkets and multi-department stores in 32 states under approximately two dozen banners, including Kroger, Ralphs, Fred Meyer, Food 4 Less, King Soopers, Smith’s, Fry’s and Fry’s Marketplace, Dillon, QFC and City Market. Kroger also operates (either directly or through its subsidiaries) 780 convenience stores, 436 fine jewelry stores, 268 supermarket fuel centers and 41 food processing plants. Last year, Kroger contributed $129 million to support education, hunger relief and local non-profit organizations in the communities where the Company operates stores or manufacturing facilities. For more information about Kroger, please visit our web site at www.kroger.com.

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