Company Aims to Close the Loop on Grocery Food Waste
A new solution designed to reduce food waste generated by grocery stores has hit the market. Do Good Foods, created by the Kamine family and backed by a $169 million investment from asset management firm Nuveen, is a scalable system that collects and upcycles fresh product and meat into nutrient-rich animal feed and sustainable protein products.
The closed-loop system takes in foods that are past their sell-by dates and beyond the window of time for donations to local food banks. The first Do Good Foods facility, in Fairless Hills, Pa., can receive and convert 160 tons of surplus food from about 450 grocery stores a day, and plans are in place to add more such sites around the country.
In early 2022, the company will introduce its own sustainable, carbon-reduced line of poultry, Do Good Chicken, with birds nourished by the program’s upcycled animal feed.
“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,” asserted Matt Kamine, co-CEO of Do Good Foods, founded by the family that owns the Kamine Development Corp., an infrastructure developer. “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.”
Justin Kamine, co-founder and CEO, echoes the family’s commitment to address environmental challenges by focusing on this aspect of sustainability. “Food waste is one of the biggest – yet solvable – catastrophes, as we waste approximately 40% of the food grown in this country,” he noted. “To put it into perspective, that is like buying five bags of groceries and throwing two 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.”
According to the Kamines, the solution has garnered interest among several retailers and is supported by thought leaders such as former Obama Administration nutrition policy advisor Sam Kass, who is now chief strategy officer at Do Good Foods.
