Earth Day is traditionally a day to recognize the value of the environment and strive to cut back on habits that may be harmful to the planet, but for the Kroger grocery store chain, every day is a reason to reduce the impact made on the environment, according to Brenda Frey, customer service manager for the Oxford branch.

"We celebrate Earth Day every day," Frey said. "We offer recycling opportunities in a number of forms including plastic bags and cardboard reclamation."

The chain has also worked to reduce energy consumption by using energy efficient light bulbs and lowering interior lights at night.

For the past two years, the Oxford store has offered customers the opportunity to recycle their plastic bags as they enter and leave the store, with reclamation bins at both entrances.

"In March, we recycled 4.06 tons of material and the proceeds of these efforts has gone to the Shared Harvest Foodbank," Frey said.

Shared Harvest Foodbank (SHF) is an organization dedicated to alleviating hunger by distributing surplus grocery products to food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters, according to the group's website.

Kroger has been making charitable food donations for a number of years, offering more than 300 tons of food to various food banks just last year, according to Carl Bosse, Kroger store operations manager for the Cincinnati-Dayton area.

Bosse said the chain is succeeding with its sustainability project by utilizing natural lighting in its stores and retrofitting inefficient appliances to conserve electricity, saving the company hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"We've still got a long way to go, but we are rapidly becoming as best a corporate citizen as we can be," Bosse said. "But its not just companies that must make efforts to protect our environment, the people have to do it too."

Bosse continued by congratulating the Oxford Kroger and the surrounding community for the efforts made in the areas of recycling and energy conservation.

"The Oxford store is one of the best in terms of recycling," Bosse said. "It's a good image for the store and the community. People obviously are really trying to be energy conscious."

This awareness is due in part to members of Green Oxford and their efforts to educate the Oxford community on topics of environmental concern.

The Miami University student-led environmental organization does this in one way by hosting an annual 5K in honor of Earth Day, meant to inform participants of conservation issues.

The course-which weaves through the fields and forests of Western Campus-includes markers that provide runners with facts about the environment, according to the group's president Stefan Linder.

"One of our biggest goals is education," Linder said. "We were really successful in educating the people about environmental issues that day."

The group also sponsors an annual lecture series entitled Focus the Nation, which brings speakers to Miami University to discuss environmental topics, according to Linder.