El Pollo Loco, Inc., the nation’s leading fire-grilled chicken chain, announced its commitment to the communities it serves through a new company-wide food donation program, Pollo with Purpose. In partnership with Food Donation Connection, El Pollo Loco plans to donate 500,000 pounds of surplus food to more than 200 local charities annually.
The initiative, which is intended to grow over the next three years, is just one of the many ways El Pollo Loco is giving back to the people and communities that it serves. In its first year, the Pollo with Purpose program will be able to feed more than 450 individuals in need, three meals a day for a year. That amounts to over 4,300 meals per year for each family and 1.5 million pounds donated by 2022.
“The communities we serve have become our family, and we want to make an ongoing positive impact by providing nourishing food to those in need,” said Bernard Acoca, President and Chief Executive Officer at El Pollo Loco. “We live our company values by making a difference and look forward to expanding the program over the next few years.”
The benefits of the Pollo with Purpose program go beyond donating meals to people in need. With 62.5 million tons of wasted food per year¹, the program will help with waste reduction by diverting food surplus from landfills. It also creates an opportunity to bring EL Pollo Loco employees and franchisees together to recognize and support the importance of serving our community.
“We commend El Pollo Loco for making great strides to combat hunger,” said Jim Larson, Vice President of Development at Food Donation Connection. “We are thrilled to collaborate with them on this incredible effort and believe it will make a tremendous contribution to our vision to let nothing be wasted.”
To learn more about Pollo with Purpose, a video about the program can be viewed here.
