Initiative: eat chicken and combat climate change

This, says the company, is the first scalable solution to eliminating the 48 billion pounds of food waste generated by grocery stores each year. The company’s closed loop system collects foods such as fruits, vegetables, and meats after human donations can occur, and upcycles them into a nutrient-dense animal feed to create sustainable animal protein.

First production facility

The first production facility is in Pennsylvania (Fairless Hills) and has the capacity to convert 160 tonnes of surplus food from approximately 450 grocery stores every day, and about 60,000 tonnes annually. The company aims to replicate the model across the country over the next 5 years. “We need actionable solutions to our massive environmental problems, and we need them now. We can’t afford to wait 10 years or 20 years,” said co-CEO, Matt Kamine. “The beauty of Do Good Foods is that it has immediate economic and environmental impact by driving us toward a more sustainable food system for all.”

A solvable catastrophe

Co-CEO, Justin Kamine: “Food waste is one of the biggest – yet solvable – catastrophes as we waste approximately 40% of the food grown in this country”. To give an example of the extent of this waste, he says it is like buying 5 bags of groceries and throwing 2 of them in the garbage as you walk out the door. “We know consumers are becoming more eco-conscious and want to waste less. Through Do Good Foods, we are providing consumers with an easy way to do good for their plate and the planet.”

Eat chicken and combat climate change

Do Good Foods has attracted some grocery retailer heavyweights and thought leaders, including Sam Kass, former president Obama’s former chef and nutrition policy advisor. “As a chef who has also had a seat at the policy table, I’ve worked with governments, NGOs, corporations and academics to solve food waste,” said Kass, Do Good Foods chief strategy officer and United Nations 12.3 food waste champion. “When we launch our mission-driven consumer food brand, people can simply eat some delicious chicken and have significant impact on food waste and climate change.”

Do Good Chicken

“There’s no reason Americans should be throwing away almost twice as much food as any other developed country. So at Do Good Chicken, we created a solution,” states the company on their website. “We decided to take the surplus food from grocery stores and turn it into nutrient-dense feed for chickens. Chickens eat the surplus, then we sell that chicken at the very same grocery stores. Just like that, we created a system that works for a circular economy, combating food waste.” Do Good Chicken, it says, a sustainable, carbon-reduced chicken, and will begin rolling out in supermarkets, restaurants, and other foodservice locations around the country in early 2022.