Answering the Call to Serve: Our Partnership with the Kroger Family of Stores

At St. Vincent Meals on Wheels, we believe the most important person is the one in front of you — and the most important work is serving that person with love.

That spirit, handed down from St. Vincent de Paul, St. Louise de Marillac, and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, continues to guide our mission today. It’s the same spirit we see in our partners at the Kroger family of stores, including Ralphs and Food 4 Less.

This past year, that shared calling came to life through the Kroger Million Meals Project, a nationwide effort to fight hunger and build community. Salvador “Sal” Ramirez, Kroger’s Director of Corporate Affairs, invited St. Vincent Meals on Wheels to join their volunteer event at the Queen Mary in Long Beach — a day filled with teamwork and shared purpose.

A U.S. Marine veteran and the son of farm-working parents, Sal brings a deep sense of service to everything he does. He often speaks about the privilege of giving back in the neighborhoods where he grew up — and about Kroger’s commitment to serving those who need it most with both action and heart.

That commitment was clear when Sal and a team of Kroger volunteers spent a day helping prepare meals in our kitchen. As SVMOW CEO Veronica Dover reflected afterward, service is most powerful when it’s personal — when people come together to share food, kindness, and time with those who might otherwise be alone.

This Thanksgiving, the partnership brings an added warmth to our mission. Sal and the Kroger family of stores are contributing to the effort in a way that helps make the holiday meal even more special for our seniors. SVMOW will prepare and deliver thousands of hot Thanksgiving meals across Los Angeles — strengthened by Kroger’s generosity.

But Kroger is just one part of a larger circle of care — one that includes our generous donors, whose faithful support makes everything we do possible. You sustain the mission day after day, helping us prepare and deliver thousands of meals, along with safety improvements, wellness checks, and human connection.

Service begins with one person and one act of love. Together — with the Daughters of Charity, the Kroger family of stores, and donors like you — we keep that promise: ensuring that every senior we serve is fed, seen, heard, and loved.