Staffing

KFC launches $500K Grocery Assistance Fund for employees

Photo provided.

April 29, 2020

Kentucky Fried Chicken said today its franchisees and foundation have created a Grocery Assistance Fund that will provide in $500,000 worth of groceries to employees at 4,000 U.S. stores. The brand said in a news release that it was providing $100 grocery gift cards to "thousands of U.S. employees." 

KFC recently surveyed select restaurant employees to learn how it could better assist restaurant-level team members during the COVID-19 crisis, and groceries for employees and their families consistently ranked among the top preferred means of support, the brand said. 

KFC said its franchisees all over the country have variously provided employees with bonuses, hourly pay increases, meals, pay continuation for employees impacted by COVID-19, and a variety of other financial incentives. For instance, franchisees Dick West (West Quality Foods) and Todd and Justin Stewart (Stewart Restaurant Group), among others, granted a $2 per hour appreciation incentive to employees. 

Additionally, franchisee Brandon Robertson provided all team members with $20 Fill Ups to take home for their families, along with a coupon to share one with someone in need within their local community. Harman Management Corp., KFC's oldest franchisee, provided a bonus to each of their 5,000 hourly employees, as well as their 560 restaurant general managers and above-unit managers.

For the Grocery Assistance Fund, KFC franchisees and employees in all U.S. restaurants can recommend co-workers in need to receive a grocery gift card from the KFC Foundation, in partnership with the YUM! Foundation. Team members can choose to recommend others for any reason.