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LOS ANGELES, Dec. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The holidays will be a little brighter for children receiving treatment at five of Southern California's largest children's hospitals thanks to supermarket partners Ralphs and Food 4 Less.

The two supermarket chains announced today that they will be presenting a $125,000 holiday gift to children's hospitals in communities served by their stores in Southern California. The grants to the children's hospitals are being made through the chains' philanthropic organizations, the Ralphs Fund and the Food 4 Less Fund.

The following Southern California children's hospitals will each receive a $25,000 grant from the Ralphs and Food 4 Less Funds:

    -- Childrens Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA)
    -- Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC)
    -- Loma Linda University Children's Hospital
    -- Miller Children's Hospital at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center
    -- Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego

"Ralphs and Food 4 Less believe strongly in giving back to the community," said Mike Donnelly, President of Ralphs Supermarkets. "We're pleased to extend our commitment to support children's hospitals. We cannot think of a better way to invest in our communities this holiday season than by giving families and children hope through our support of the innovative work these hospitals are doing to provide world-class medical care for children."

Since 2005, Ralphs and Food 4 Less have given more than $800,000 to children's hospitals in Southern California.

"Our ability to support the great work being done by our local children's hospitals is a direct result of the dedication of our team members and the generosity of our customers," said Dave Hirz, President of Food 4 Less. "With the sluggish economy, Food 4 Less and Ralphs are proud to be able to continue to help children and families have a healthy future."

Last year, Ralphs and Food 4 Less provided more than $12 million in cash and in-kind donations to organizations focused on women's and children's health, K-12 education, the fight against hunger, celebrating multiculturalism and disaster relief.

Based in Los Angeles, CA, Ralphs and Food 4 Less currently operate more than 400 conventional and warehouse-style supermarkets in California, Southern Nevada, Illinois and Indiana. Ralphs and Food 4 Less are divisions of The Kroger Co., (NYSE: KR), one of the nation's largest food retailers, based in Cincinnati, Ohio. For more information, please visit our web sites at http://www.ralphs.com and http://www.food4less.com.