The Campaign
Harris Teeter has kicked off its 2026 Harvest Feast Round Up, asking shoppers to round up their checkout transactions to the nearest dollar through Dec. 29 to benefit local food banks. The Kroger-owned, Matthews, N.C.-based grocer operates more than 250 stores and 60 fuel centers across eight states and the District of Columbia, giving the campaign considerable geographic reach.
Customers and associates contributed more than $820,000 in last year's Harvest Feast effort. Since the program launched in 2005, cumulative donations have surpassed $14 million — a benchmark that underscores the steady compounding effect of penny-and-nickel round-ups across a large, loyalty-driven store base.
How the Money Moves
Funds collected at individual stores are distributed exclusively to hunger-relief partners aligned with each location's service area, meaning a donation made at a Charlotte-area Harris Teeter stays in the Charlotte market. The chain is partnering with 19 local agencies in total for the 2026 cycle.
"Every dollar donated at checkout stays local, supporting food bank partners that serve families in the same community where the donation is made," said Danna Robinson, director of corporate affairs and customer relations for Harris Teeter. The store-level alignment model is a common mechanism among regional grocery operators looking to preserve donor trust and sharpen community relevance — a growing priority as retailers compete for loyalty in markets where independent grocers and discount formats are also active.
Relevance for Operators
Round-up campaigns have become a standard checkout-engagement tool across grocery, drug, and convenience channels. For c-store operators, the Harris Teeter model offers a useful reference point: cause-marketing programs tied to a specific dollar threshold are low-friction for the shopper, require minimal POS complexity, and generate measurable, auditable outcomes that can anchor associate engagement efforts during the holiday quarter.
Harris Teeter's scale — 36,000 associates across a multi-state footprint — also illustrates how in-store staff participation can amplify a round-up campaign well beyond passive customer opt-ins. Operators running foodservice programs or loyalty initiatives in convenience formats have leaned on similar associate-driven outreach to lift participation rates during seasonal giving windows.
The Harvest Feast campaign runs through Dec. 29, 2026.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
