Target, Inc.

Minneapolis-based Target Corp. has name Matt Zabel its VP of government affairs.

In response to the devastating effects of the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico — which resulted in the largest man-made environmental disaster in American history — C&S Wholesale Grocers is donating funds to help the people, ecosystems and wildlife in the area.

Target Corp. will continue its support to help end childhood hunger and further K-12 education by teaming up with Kraft Foods and Procter & Gamble to donate up to $800,000 to Feeding America.

Shoppers are picky about their grocery stores — and they should be. Most consumers spend a significant amount of time every week at their stores of choice gathering food to feed their families.

Dale Nitschke, CEO of Ovative/Group and former president of Target.com, was elected to the board of directors of Alice.com, a provider of e-commerce and interactive marketing services to the consumer packaged goods industry.

Free-standing insert coupon activity increased 10.1 percent based on coupons dropped during the first six months of 2010 vs. the same time period a year ago, with Target, Kroger, Publix and Ralphs among the retailers in the top 10 for total pages circulated.

While Walmart and Kroger are still the No. 1 and No. 2 retailers in the United States, despite the nation’s recent economic woes, a new slate of companies are starting to come on strong, according to STORES Magazine’s annual ranking of retailers by sales.

Target will open its first store on the island of Manhattan this month, with a grand opening scheduled in East Harlem on July 25.