Syngenta Halex GT touring robotic truck at Kroger's [April 20, 2010]  Early this week, the Syngenta Halex GT touring robotic truck has been parked in the Kroger parking lot on Woodlawn Road in Lincoln, collecting food for local food pantries.

Syngenta is a leading manufacturer of agricultural herbicides, including the widely used Halex GT, which is a product designed for use on Roundup Ready corn.

The company has teamed up with Feeding America, formerly known as America's Second Harvest, taking the truck across the nation, collecting food for the hungry.

According to a media release provided by Kroger, the truck would remain in their parking lot on Monday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and again on Tuesday for the same amount of time. At the end of each day, what is collected will be taken to one of the local food pantries in Lincoln.

As an added benefit, those who stop by can look inside the glass-walled truck and watch a robotic arm in action.

On the back of the truck are some stark realities: 1 in 8 households need help with food; in those households 37 percent are children; and 8 percent of America's elderly are food-deprived.

[By NILA SMITH]