AUGUSTA, GA. (WJBF)- A new Kroger is coming to Augusta. And local leaders hope the new store makes it easier for people living in areas that don’t have many options for food. The Kroger will be located at the intersection of Harper Franklin Avenue and Jimmie Dyess Parkway.

This new Kroger will not only give families easier access to fresh foods.

“A lot of times I have to go to Grovetown because Kroger is my preferred grocery store and there isn’t a whole lot to choose from in the area anyways,” Jamey Gassaway said. 

But it’s also a resource for nonprofit organizations to bridge gaps for food insecurity. 

“43 percent of all the good that is produced ends up unsold and uneaten. And so, we’re doing our part through our Zero Hunger, Zero Waste Mission to reduce that,” Kroger Corporate Affairs Manager Tammie Young-Ennaemba said.

The “Zero Hunger, Zero Waste Mission,” is an initiative created by Kroger to minimize food gaps and eliminate waste.

“From us selling that product at full retail fresh to all of our customers. To giving our associates the opportunity to mark that product down when it’s still at a good value for our customers. And then also when that product is not sold at those two steps in the process, we actually do what we call rescue that food product and it goes to local food banks to then go back into the community,” Young-Ennaemba said.

Senator Harold Jones II joined the group and tells me, whatever the state can do to amplify support for nonprofits in the CSRA, he wants to be on the frontline. 

“You have a store that people can come shop at– love that– but you also have a corporation that wants to be involved in the community and deal with various issues including food insecurity; we’re ecstatic to have ‘em here,” Senator Harold Jones II said.

Kroger has also donated checks to the Augusta Dream Center and the Augusta Riverkeeper– two local organizations working for one cause. 

“They’re gonna be a strong corporate partner, they wanna be part of the community and you couldn’t ask for anything better than that,” Senator Harold Jones II said.

One grocery store’s start could become the answer to many issues surrounding access to food. The Kroger is expected to open in spring of 2024.