LOS ANGELES, Jan. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California based Food 4 Less is pleased to announce that it is raising funds to support children's hospitals in the communities its stores serve in Southern California, southern Nevada, and the greater Chicago area. In addition, the supermarket chain's Foods Co Division is collecting donations for children's hospitals in central and northern California.

Customers and associates can support their local children's hospital through the supermarket chain's nonprofit arm, The Food 4 Less/Foods Co Fund, by donating their spare change in collection canisters located at the checkstands in their neighborhood Food 4 Less store in Southern California, southern Nevada and greater Chicago, and Foods Co supermarkets in Central and Northern California. The children's hospital fund-raising campaign runs from January 29 through May 19, 2012.

Children's hospitals that will benefit from the program include:


    --  Children's Hospital Central California (Fresno)
    --  Children's Hospital Los Angeles
    --  Children's Hospital of Nevada
    --  Children's Hospital of Orange County
    --  Cottage Children's Hospital (Santa Barbara)
    --  La Rabida Children's Hospital (Chicago)
    --  Loma Linda Children's Hospital
    --  Miller Children's Hospital Long Beach
    --  Rady Children's Hospital (San Diego)
    --  UC Davis Children's Hospital
    --  UC San Francisco Children's Hospital

Since 2005, Food 4 Less/Foods Co, its team members and customers have given more than $1 million to children's hospitals.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, Food 4 Less operates 146 price-impact, warehouse-format supermarkets under the banners Food 4 Less in Southern California, Nevada, Illinois and Indiana, and Foods Co in Northern California. Last year, Food 4 Less contributed more than $4 million to support education, hunger relief, women's health and local nonprofit organizations in the communities served by the company's stores. Food 4 Less is a subsidiary of The Kroger Co., (NYSE:KR), one of the nation's largest grocery retailers, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. For more information about Food 4 Less, please visit our website at www.food4less.com.

SOURCE Food 4 Less