Today I’m looking at Kroger Co to see if I will choose to continue shopping there. First, it’s important to know that Kroger has a ton of affiliates. Here in California, my local Kroger affiliate is Ralphs.
How Does Kroger Co. Score on Supporting Democracy and DEI?
Since I routinely shop at Ralphs, I wanted to know how Kroger scored on supporting democracy and DEI initiatives. So, as is the drill, I did research.
Open Secrets
When considering all contributions, both from employees and to PACs, Kroger donated slightly more to democratic candidates than republicans.
Kroger engaged in lobbying activities in 2024.
It looks like historically, Kroger supported republican candidates, however, in recent years that has started to change. They gave more to democrats in the 2024 and 2020 election cycles, which were both presidential election cycles. Perhaps they are shifting their stances to be more in the center and more aligned with democracy.
American Democracy Scorecard
The American Democracy Scorecard gives Kroger a “D,” which isn’t great, but shockingly, is not the worst score for a grocer. It’s way worse than Costco, though, which I analyzed here.
Goods Unite Us
This, admittedly, is not great. But again, I think this may come down to a different methodology used by Goods Unite Us, which they aren’t super transparent about. I can see where taking into account contributions by employees could skew results.
Either way, the campaign finance score is terrible.
Commitment to DEI
And DEI Watch has Kroger in the Committed to DEI category.
Double Checking With Other Creators in This Space
Justin brings up a few additional considerations, such as historic practices of price gouging during the pandemic. Not cool.
So, Will I Shop At Kroger?
I will, but with a caveat. At this point, for me, Kroger doesn’t warrant a complete boycott, like Target, Walmart, and Amazon. They are, however, on my watch list.
I will continue to go there, but ONLY FOR DEALS. I will limit my purchases to markdowns and loss leaders. What’s a loss leader? Here’s a good article on loss leaders and how to spot them.
Do you have any questions about Kroger? I’m happy to do some more research.
Where are you shopping for groceries? Do you have any personal “rules” that you apply when shopping?
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Frugal Forward 
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