Bayer and Kroger Team to Help Improve Access to Health and Nutrition in Rural America

• New “Take Care, Now” campaign designed to raise awareness of and help increase access to care for Americans living in rural communities.
• In support, Bayer and Kroger will sponsor 50 Nurse Scholars through AgriSafe Network to help address healthcare access.
• Bayer will provide one million meals* through the Feeding America network of food banks to help address food insecurity.
• Luke Bryan will support “Take Care, Now” campaign through #HerestotheFarmer during Luke Bryan Farm Tour. 
• Campaign will educate on the risks of cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease and prostate cancer, an important part of Bayer helping people take care of their health.

Bayer, one of the country’s largest life-sciences companies, announced today its campaign to remind rural America to “Take Care, Now” and help alleviate care deserts in rural America, areas significantly impacted by both food insecurity and limited access to healthcare. Today, 90 percent of counties with the highest food insecurity rates are rural¹ and rural communities represent nearly two-thirds of primary care health professional shortage areas in the country².

Kroger and Luke Bryan are joining Bayer in its commitment to rural American communities. Bayer and Kroger will support AgriSafe Network, an organization working to address health disparities in agricultural communities. Their sponsorship will help to provide additional training to 50 nurses in local communities. AgriSafe Nurse Scholars are essential in rural areas, and equipping these nurses to address the unique occupational health risks of farmers and their families results in stronger, healthier communities.

“Food, nutrition and health are interconnected, but across America – especially in rural America – people don’t always have access to the food, health services and preventive care they need,” said Sebastian Guth, President of Bayer U.S. and Pharmaceuticals North America. “We’re proud to support rural communities where our employees live and work, and where we do business.”

”At Kroger, we understand how important it is for everyone to have access to healthy food and healthcare,” said Jim Kirby, Chief Commercial Officer, Kroger Health. “Farmers play such an important role in bringing fresh food to families across the U.S., and we look forward to working with Bayer to improve their access to high-quality healthcare.”

The need for Bayer and Kroger to help increase access to health and nutrition has never been greater:

• More than 34 million Americans, including nine million children, experience food insecurity³.
• Over one third of the U.S. population lives in a county where there is less than adequate access to pharmacies, primary care providers, hospitals, trauma centers, and/or low-cost health centers⁴.
• A new study from The Harris Poll, commissioned by Bayer, suggests fear factors have an impact on diagnoses and preventative care – one in four Americans would rather not know they have cancer and nearly one third (31%) of U.S. adults 18+ avoid doctor visits due to fear of what they might learn. Many American adults also said they are not very knowledgeable about key physical health topics including breast cancer (38%) and prostate cancer (49%).

“Farmers often are leaders in their communities and are critical to help close the food security gap – working every day to provide healthy and nutritious food around the country,” said Dr. Jacqueline Applegate, President of Bayer Crop Science North America. “However, farmers and others in rural communities often put the needs of others before their own. With our new campaign, we also want to remind them to take time to focus on their personal health, so they can take care of their communities.”

“Farmers are tasked with feeding the world while facing disproportionately high rates of job-related injury and illness,” said Natalie Roy, CEO of AgriSafe Network. “AgriSafe welcomes this opportunity to build the capacity of rural nurses to care for agricultural families. By investing in the education of nurses, Bayer and Kroger will increase positive health outcomes in rural America.”

As part of the “Take Care, Now” campaign, Bayer is hosting its annual #HerestotheFarmer initiative benefiting Feeding America during the Luke Bryan Farm Tour. Bayer will help provide one million meals* to people experiencing hunger through the Feeding America network of food banks. With this year’s contribution, Bayer has donated more than seven million meals since the inception of its partnership with Feeding America.

“Millions of Americans do not know where their next meal will come from. These types of partnerships and initiatives are important in raising awareness and helping to address food insecurity, especially in rural communities where the impact is most significant,” said Lauren Biedron, Vice President of Corporate Partnerships at Feeding America. “We’re proud to be working alongside Bayer, Luke Bryan and Kroger to make an impact in these areas.”

The campaign also focuses on educating those in rural communities about the importance of understanding their risk for cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease and prostate cancer. Ninety percent of people with kidney disease do not know they have it because the symptoms are silent. Two simple tests for kidney function and kidney damage are an easy way to assess your risk. A simple blood test called a PSA is used to screen for prostate cancer. People can learn more by visiting the Bayer Aspirin Heart Risk Assessment** or Bayer’s partners, The National Kidney Foundation and Zero Prostate Cancer.

To raise awareness of care deserts, Bayer and Kroger are kicking off a “Take Care, Now” experience at events this fall, starting with Farm Progress Show, the largest outdoor farm event in the country, taking place in Decatur, Illinois, in August. The experience will also be at all six Luke Bryan Farm Tour concerts, where Bayer is a presenting sponsor, and the Kroger Wellness Festival. To support the local communities at each “Take Care, Now” experience stop, AgriSafe Nurse Scholars will be directed to increase access to care in those areas.

In addition to joining Bayer in supporting AgriSafe Network, Kroger, through its family of pharmacies and clinics, provides access to a variety of health services in its stores and employs more than 24,000 healthcare professionals – from pharmacists, registered dietitians and nurse practitioners. Together, Bayer and Kroger provide customers with fresh, nutritious, affordable food and access to expert, credible healthcare. The campaign brings together both Bayer’s vision of Health for All, Hunger for None and Kroger’s belief that promoting long-term health and nutrition has the potential to improve community health.

For people who would like to learn more about the “Take Care, Now” campaign and are not able to attend one of the events, Bayer is encouraging supporters to visit https://www.bayer.com/en/us/takecarenow. On the website, people can also access coupons to use at Kroger stores and sign up for a raffle to win Luke Bryan farm tour 2024 VIP tickets.

^*$1 helps provide at least 10 meals secured by Feeding America on behalf of local member food banks. From now through 11/30/2023, Bayer guarantees the financial equivalent of 1,000,000 meals ($100,000) in conjunction with the promotion.

** Does not replace an assessment by a qualified healthcare professional. Always talk to your doctor or healthcare professional about your heart health.

1 Rural Hunger Facts | Feeding America

2 https://www.americanprogress.org/article/how-states-can-expand-health-care-access-in-rural-communities

3 Hunger In America | Feeding America

4 GoodRx, Mapping Healthcare Deserts: 80% of the Country Lacks Adequate Access to Healthcare

About Bayer

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services are designed to help people and the planet thrive by supporting efforts to master the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. Bayer is committed to driving sustainable development and generating a positive impact with its businesses. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. The Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2022, the Group employed around 101,000 people and had sales of 50.7 billion euros. R&D expenses before special items amounted to 6.2 billion euros. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.

About Kroger

At The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), we are Fresh for Everyone™ and dedicated to our Purpose: To Feed the Human Spirit®. We are, across our family of companies, nearly half a million associates who serve over 11 million customers daily through a seamless shopping experience under a variety of banner names. We are committed to creating #ZeroHungerZeroWaste communities by 2025. To learn more about us, visit our newsroom and investor relations site. Visit Kroger on Facebook or follow us on Twitter or Instagram.

About Luke Bryan

Country music superstar and television personality Luke Bryan has released 30 No. 1 hits, garnered nearly 20 billion worldwide streams and has more RIAA certified digital single certifications than any other Country artist of all time with 83 Million with overall career RIAA certifications totaling 98.5 Million. His headline concert tours have played sold-out shows for millions and millions of fans inclusive of 36 stadium concerts, Farm Tours, Spring Break shows, and eight sold-out ‘Crash My Playa’ destination concert events. Bryan has won 50+ major music awards including five wins as Entertainer of the Year. Additional awards include six recognitions as a CMT Artist of the Year, NSAI Artist/Songwriter of the Year, the first-ever recipient of the ACM Album of the Decade Award for Crash My Party, seven CMT Music Awards, five Billboard Music Awards, and four American Music Awards—as well as being named Billboard’s Top Country Artist of the 2010s, the Most Heard Artist of the Decade by Country Aircheck, and the Artist Humanitarian Recipient by the Country Radio Broadcasters. Luke, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie have served as celebrity judges on ABC’s American Idol for six years and will return for the seventh season in 2024.

Check out more about Luke Bryan on his website LukeBryan.com, and follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.

About AgriSafe Network

AgriSafe Network is a national 501©3 non-profit that educates healthcare professionals and agricultural communities about important health and safety information for agriculture, fishing, and forestry workers. Our mission is to protect the people who feed the world. For more information, visit https://www.agrisafe.org.

About Feeding America

Feeding America® is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through a network of more than 200 food banks, 21 statewide food bank associations, and over 60,000 partner agencies, food pantries and meal programs, we helped provide 6.6 billion meals to tens of millions of people in need last year. Feeding America also supports programs that prevent food waste and improve food security among the people we serve; brings attention to the social and systemic barriers that contribute to food insecurity in our nation; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry.

Visit www.feedingamerica.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

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