Meijer arranged a donation of 1,500 water filters in Flint last summer but insisted on anonymity and even offered to give gift cards so the state could purchase them.
The disclosures are in emails released in recent days by Gov. Rick Snyder. The filters were distributed by pastors, weeks before Snyder acknowledged that corrosive water was leaching lead in old plumbing.
The Detroit Free Press reports that Meijer worked with Clorox to provide the Brita filters, worth about $20,000.
In an email to a Snyder aide, Meijer executive Mark Murray said: "Given all the circumstances, we are not interested in any publicity." He didn't elaborate.
Flint residents were complaining for months about water quality, but the Snyder administration was insisting the water was OK.
Meijer spokesman Frank Guglielmi said Sunday that Meijer's goal is to "keep the focus" on recipients.
