FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PHILABUNDANCE LAUNCHES ABUNDANTLY GOOD BRAND BENEFITING THOSE FACING HUNGER
Every purchase rescues food, funds farms and helps feed those in need
Philadelphia, PA – June 19, 2018– Philabundance, the Delaware Valley’s largest hunger relief organization, is pleased to announce the official launch of Abundantly Good, its retail food brand featuring healthy products, proceeds of which go to rescue and produce free, high-quality food for local people experiencing hunger.
As 40% of all food produced in the U.S. is wasted annually, yet 1 in 5 Philadelphians don’t know where their next meal is coming from, Philabundance saw an opportunity to have an impact on these inextricably linked challenges. By using retail sales to fund the rescue of perfectly good dairy produced by struggling Lancaster farmers, using it to create more good food and providing that food, for free, to those in need, Abundantly Good is a sustainable, triple bottom line brand positively impacting people, planet and profit.
“This new brand is Abundantly Good for our community on so many levels,” said Glenn Bergman, Executive Director of Philabundance. “It helps farmers by providing increased revenue, it helps cut down on harmful greenhouse gases created when food goes into landfills and the proceeds of sales help our clients access free, healthy, local food.”
This launch comes on the heels of a year-long product pilot with DiBruno Bros, in which the local specialty food retailer carried five varieties of Abundantly Good hand-crafted raw milk cheese made by Lancaster, PA farmers. Sales so far have enabled $9,000 to be contributed toward the rescue and processing of excess milk into high-quality cheese for Philabundance’s clients.
“We jumped at the chance to partner with Philabundance by selling Abundantly Good cheese, as it gave us the chance to sell something that tastes good and does good at the same time,” said Emilio Mignucci, Vice President, diBruno Bros.
The idea for this brand came about during a collaboration with partners, including the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and Chester County Food Bank, as well as the Pennsylvania dairy industry. All together, they helped save 12 tanker loads of surplus milk from being wasted by using it to create 66,000 pounds of natural, high-quality cheese by local cheesemakers made for hungry Pennsylvanians. Philabundance built on this successful partnership by continuing this model under Abundantly Good, creating a brand that funds itself.
As Philabundance was founded on the concept of food rescue 30+ years ago, the nonprofit recognized the growing market for more rescued, or ‘upcycled’ products – those made with surplus ingredients. To that end, in July, it will launch the next product in the Abundantly Good brand, Spiced Tomato Jam in conjunction with TBJ Gourmet. Proceeds of the jam will go to provide free tomato products, such as sauce and soup, to Philabundance’s clients.
Philabundance, with the generous support from The Claneil Foundation, plans to deepen its commitment to food waste reduction and innovation by expanding the Abundantly Good brand. The focus for 2018 is to secure additional
collaborators to source and process local excess dairy and produce. Philabundance plans to provide over 8,000 pounds of donated upcycled products to people facing food insecurity.
For retailers interested in selling or distributing the Abundantly Good brand, please contact sustainability@philabundance.org. For individuals interested in purchasing items, please visit Philabundance’s website at www.philabundance.org/upcycle for a list of locations selling it.
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