Kroger Responded — Again. And Again, Nothing Changes.

A Polite Email That Says Everything and Nothing

Kroger has written back to me. And just like 23 months ago, the message is polite, polished, and utterly empty.

Here is the full text they sent:

**"Hello Zoltan,

Thanks for reaching out. I'm Mariah.

I hope this message finds you well. This is about the contact you made suggesting placing a warning signs on shopping carts to highlight overbuying concerns.

We appreciate you bringing this to our attention. Your valuable customer feedback will be shared with the appropriate team for review and consideration. While we cannot guarantee that changes will be implemented, please know that your feedback helps guide future improvements and discussions.

If you have any additional questions or concerns, please reply to this email and refer to case number 88506437. We appreciate you choosing to shop with us and are always happy to help.

Sincerely,

Mariah Kroger Customer Connect The Kroger Family of Stores"**

Why This Message Is So Strange 

This email would be perfectly normal—if it were the first time I had contacted them. But it isn't.

I reached out to Kroger 23 months ago with the exact same proposal: place simple warning signs on shopping carts to help customers avoid overbuying and overeating.

Back then, they sent two polite, carefully polished corporate responses.  I even made both of their earlier replies public for everyone to see.

And now, nearly two years later, they send the same template, the same tone, the same "we'll pass this along" promise. It's as if nothing happened. As if no one ever read the original message. As if the entire conversation simply evaporated inside their customer‑service machinery.

The Cost of Doing Nothing

This isn't a trivial issue. This isn't a quirky suggestion about store layout or a complaint about long checkout lines.

This is about the global obesity crisis—a crisis that kills 5 million people every single year.

Five million.

That's more than car accidents, more than many infectious diseases, more than most wars. And yet the largest grocery chains in the United States still treat the topic like a minor customer comment to be "shared with the appropriate team."

Warning signs on shopping carts are not radical. They are not expensive. They are not complicated. They are not controversial.

They are basic public‑health communication, the kind that could help millions of families make slightly better decisions every week.

But instead of action, we get another polite email. Another "thank you for your feedback." Another "we cannot guarantee changes." Another corporate shrug.

The Real Problem: Corporate Apathy Disguised as Courtesy

Kroger's message is friendly. It is respectful. It is professional.

And it is completely useless.

Because courtesy without action is not kindness. It is a shield. A way to appear responsive while doing absolutely nothing.

When a company the size of Kroger—one of the largest food retailers in the United States—cannot even acknowledge that they have already received the same warning nearly two years earlier, it becomes painfully clear:

They are not listening. They are not tracking. They are not acting.

And in the middle of a global health catastrophe, that is not just disappointing. It is irresponsible.

We Deserve Better Than Empty Politeness

If Kroger truly cared about the health of its customers, they would not need 23 months and multiple reminders to consider a simple, low‑cost intervention.

They would not send the same template response twice.

They would not pretend this is new information.

They would act.

Until then, all we have is another polite email—another corporate gesture that looks like engagement but functions as avoidance.

And people keep dying.

Kroger: Nice Emails, No Progress

They Took Our Loved Ones From Us — Hold the Food Industry Accountable