Do Good Chicken, the first chicken brand that fights food waste and combats climate change, is celebrating the one-year anniversary of its launch with a big milestone, announcing that it has diverted approximately 27 million pounds of surplus food from going to landfill, saving more than 3,100 metric tons of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere, or the equivalent of saving 3,429,869 pounds of coal from being burned.

Do Good Chicken accomplished this milestone thanks to its unique closed-loop system that works with grocers to upcycle grocery surplus food (after community donations) into nutritious animal feed. Currently, grocery stores, restaurants and food service companies account for 40% of U.S. food waste, according to Feeding America. In fact, wasted food from the retail sector is valued at more than $18 billion, which is about twice the amount of profit retailers generate from food sales, according to ReFED 26 Dept of Agriculture.

Food waste is also a significant contributor to climate change — in fact, if food waste were its own country, it would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, behind the U.S. and China, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Each Do Good Chicken saves surplus grocery food from being thrown away, thereby preventing the release of 3 pounds of greenhouse gases from entering into 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," says Justin Kamine, co-founder and co-CEO. "We're excited to watch that number continue to grow in the years to come."

"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," added Matthew Kamine, co-founder and co-CEO.

Growth in year two

Do Good Chicken has now added more than 200 surplus food collection partners to its network and has plans to continue aggressive expansion. With demand continuing to increase, Do Good Foods has plans to expand operations with two more processing facilities currently under development in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Selma, North Carolina. Anticipated to open within the next two years, these new facilities will enable Do Good Foods to increase its scale of surplus food collection, furthering its mission to fight food waste and combat climate change.

More and more retailers are joining in the mission to end food waste, and Do Good Chicken has recently expanded its retail distribution with Inserra Supermarkets under the Shoprite banners, as well as Morton Williams in Nd 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," says Lawrence Inserra, Jr., chairman and CEO of Inserra Supermarkets. "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."

Fed a diet that includes nutritious surplus grocery food, Do Good Chicken is U.S.-farm-raised, cage-free and 100% natural, raised without artificial ingredients, antibiotics, hormones or steroids ever. Do Good Chicken's lineup of fresh chicken includes boneless skinless chicken breast, bone-in and boneless thighs, drumsticks, tenderloins, whole bird and wings. 

To learn more, visit DoGoodChicken.com and follow @dogoodchicken on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Source: Do Good Chicken