Do Good Chicken celebrates first-year landfill diversion milestone

Do Good Chicken, a Bedminster Township, New Jersey-based chicken brand that fights food waste and combats climate, is celebrating the one-year anniversary of its launch having reached what it says is a major milestone.

The company says it has diverted approximately 27 million pounds of surplus food from landfills, preventing more than 3,100 metric tons of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from entering the atmosphere.

“When we look back at all we’ve accomplished in our first year of operation, hitting the milestone of more than 25 million pounds of surplus food diverted from landfills is the one that rises to the top,” Do Good Chicken co-founder and co-CEO Justin Kamine says. “We’re excited to watch that number continue to grow in the years to come.”

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Bringing better solutions to climate-conscious consumers, Do Good Chicken upcycles healthy food surplus that would otherwise go to landfills.

Do Good Chicken reached this milestone using a closed-loop system that works with grocers to upcycle grocery surplus food (after community donations) into nutritious animal feed. Grocery stores, restaurants and food service companies account for about 61 percent of U.S. food waste, according to Chicago-based Feeding America. Wasted food from the retail sector in 2018 was valued at more than $18 billion, which is about twice the amount of profit retailers generate from food sales, according to ReFED Inc., Long Island City, New York.

The company says each Do Good Chicken bought by consumers saves surplus grocery food from being thrown away, preventing the release of 3 pounds of GHGs from entering into the atmosphere.

“Ending food waste was the driving force for founding this company, and while we know we still have a long way to go towards meeting that goal, we’ve got all the pieces in place to make a truly significant impact,” Do Good Chicken co-founder and co-CEO Matthew Kamine says.

Continued growth

Do Good Chicken has more than 200 surplus food collection partners with plans to continue expanding its network. The firm has processing facilities under development in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Selma, North Carolina. These new facilities—set to open within the next two years—will enable Do Good Foods to increase its scale of surplus food collection, furthering its mission to fight food waste and combat climate change.

Do Good Chicken has recently partnered with Mahwah, New Jersey-based Inserra Supermarkets under the Shoprite banners, as well as Morton Williams in New York City and select Jewel-Osco locations in Chicago.

“We’re excited to be a part of the closed-loop system to fight food waste and combat climate change with Do Good. Our customers will now be able to purchase Do Good Chicken at our family-owned and operated ShopRite stores in Bergen, Hudson and Passaic counties in New Jersey and Rockland County in New York,” Inserra Supermarkets Chairman and CEO Lawrence Inserra Jr says. “We know that our customers are increasingly choosing sustainable product options. By having Do Good Chicken product in our stores, they get a great tasting chicken, and we all work together to reduce waste and help the planet.”

The company says its chickens are raised cage-free on feed derived from surplus food from grocery stores and never ingest antibiotics, hormones or steroids.