Supermarkets in the Midwest have launched fund-raising and other disaster-relief efforts in partnership with the American Red Cross for victims of rash the tornadoes that have swept through the region in the past week.
Louisville, Ky.-based ValuMarket has been collecting needed donations of non-perishable items for victims in nearby Henryville, Ind., and delivering them with its own trucks. The five-store retailer has been updating its Facebook page with lists of the needed items and photos of its deliveries.
South Bend, Ind.-based Martin’s Super Markets, although its stores are all in northern Indiana, away from the destruction in the southern part of the state, is planning one-day fund-raisers in partnership with a local radio station and the Red Cross on Wednesday, a spokesman for the 21-store chain told SN.
“We’ll probably also do some other things to help,” said Dave Mayfield, the Martin’s spokesman.
Kroger Co. locations around the region were also collecting donations in partnership with the Red Cross, according to reports. The Cincinnati-based retailer was reported to be accepting donations at the cash registers at some locations.
Procter & Gamble, also based in Cincinnati, on Monday said it has dispatched its Tide Loads of Hope truck and Duracell Power Relief Truck to Henryville. The Tide truck, with 32 washers and dryers, can launder up to 300 loads of clothes per day for victims, while the Duracell truck gives people without power a place to recharge their devices.
On Monday the Red Cross said it had launched a relief operation spanning 11 states across the South and Midwest after as many as 95 tornadoes touched down, causing widespread damage.