Food Companies Helping Farm Animals and Frontline Workers

May 21, 2020

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Amid the stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, it can be hard to know how to effectively support the causes we care about. The good news is that there are plenty of ways to help from home—including by thanking and supporting businesses that are actively contributing to the effort to fight COVID-19. We are proud to recognize several companies that are helping frontline workers and communities in need, while demonstrating a continual commitment to farm animals.

Companies Donating Funds and Food

ASPCA-recognized companies Amy’s KitchenBeech Nut Baby Food, Beyond Meat, Blue Diamond, ButcherBox, Enlightened Ice Cream, Good Catch Foods, Genuine Foods, Great American Turkey Company, JUST Egg, Miyoko’s, Niman Ranch, Open Farm, Pete & Gerry’s and Serenity Kids are not only either welfare-certified or plant-based but also donating meals, supplies, funds and services to those most affected by COVID-19. In addition, Nourish Sequim and Sweetgreen, companies that have committed to sourcing animal welfare-certified ingredients, have also joined in helping those in need. Through these efforts, hundreds of thousands of more humane products have been delivered to local food banks, hospitals, and organizations with programs to support children and the elderly. Many have established relief funds for those who are food insecure and are also funding COVID-19 research.

Learn more about these corporate initiatives here:

  • Amy’s Kitchen – Donating 170,000+ meals to local food banks, hospitals and organizations with programs to support children and the elderly, and are also donating 36,000+ face masks to local healthcare systems.
  • Beech Nut Baby Food – Partnering with No Kid Hungry to help feed hungry kids – especially now when schools are closed.
  • Beyond Meat – Donating and distributing more than 1 million Beyond Burgers as part of its Feed a Million+ pledge.
  • Blue Diamond – Working with local organizations that provide services to those in need, including local food banks and community non-profit organizations.
  • ButcherBox – Partnering with Feeding America to donate one million meals to people in need.
  • Enlightened Ice Cream – Donated 50% of website profits to supply healthcare workers with essential gear.
  • Good Catch Foods – Partnered with Miyoko’s Creamery to serve 4,000 meals to first responders and local families in need.
  • Great American Turkey Company – Partnering with Wholesome Wave, donating products to feed the New York City healthcare community.
  • Miyoko’s Creamery – Donated grilled “cheese” sandwiches to feed California first responders, hospital workers and families in need at Sonoma Valley Hospital, St. Vincent’s Of Marin, St. Helena Hospital and the City of Vallejo homeless community.
  • Miyoko’s Creamery, Beyond Meat and JUST Egg – Partnered to donate meals to healthcare workers in California.
  • Niman Ranch – Donated more than 12,000 pounds of Niman Ranch all-natural meats to chefs across the country to support their grassroots relief efforts, serving more than 50,000 meals to our neighbors in need. Niman Ranch is also partnering with Edible Communities on a new campaign celebrating food heroes.
  • Nourish Sequim – Donating meals to Olympic Medical Center Hospital healthcare workers and first responders in Port Angeles and Sequim, Washington.
  • Open Farm Pet Food – Providing one month of unlimited free therapy sessions in partnership with BetterHelp and donated 11,700 pet meals to frontline workers, seniors and compromised individuals in partnership with Road Dogs & Rescue.
  • Pete & Gerry’s – Donating to schools, programs, restaurants and healthcare facilities in need.
  • Serenity Kids – Donated free cases of baby food to our healthcare heroes with little ones as thanks for their efforts on the frontlines and has partnered with different organizations like Giving Austin Labor Support, Institute for the Advancement of Minority Health, and Mama Sana Vibrant Woman (a free pregnancy, birth and postpartum support group) to get their ethically sourced, nutrient dense baby foods into more and more bellies.
  • Sweetgreen – Donating 100,000 meals to hospital workers and medical personnel through the Impact Outpost Fund, to which the public can donate as well.

Companies Accepting or Matching Donations to Deliver Meals, Snacks and More

Animal welfare-committed companies Bee Free, CAVA, Ceres Project, Just Salad and Sweetgreen, along with Shop With Your Heart-recommended brands Protein Puck, Revolution Gelato and Rickaroons, are donating meals and funds to the COVID cause.

Read more about these initiatives and how you can help here:

  • Bee Free – Donating weekly to Fueled for School, which are local meal packs for children in public schools with food insecurity, as well as allowing customers to buy-one give-one for their Mae's Apple Pie Mix.
  • CAVA – Partnering with Uber Eats, CAVA is donating and delivering up to 10,000 Family Meals to feed families of frontline workers through their Feeding Families initiative of matching donations: For every family meal you purchase, they will donate a CAVA Family Meal.
  • Ceres Community Project – Have more than tripled their deliveries of medically tailored meals during the pandemic to support lower-income people struggling with health challenges, and are accepting donations for community members in need in Northern California to support their path to recovery.
  • Just Salad – Accepting donations to send meals to healthcare workers in New York City. Just Salad has shared that 10,000 meals a week have already been distributed to Mount Sinai Hospitals in New York since March 30.
  • Sweetgreen – Has partnered with José Andrés World Central Kitchen to create the sweetgreen Impact Outpost Fund. Together, they have served more than 250,000 meals to frontline heroes across the country. 
  • Protein Puck – Donating Protein Puck Bars to local food banks.
  • Revolution Gelato – Accepting donations for delivering gelato to healthcare workers.
  • Rickaroons – Matching donations for boxes of snacks to be delivered to healthcare workers in San Diego.

For those who are able, check out the new Where To Buy feature of our Shop With Your Heart Brand List to find welfare-certified and plant-based food that you can purchase online, or visit our Certified Farms By State list to directly support nearby farmers.

We are in this together—and only together will we create a more resilient and compassionate future.

If you need to reach the ASPCA Farm Animal Welfare team, please email [email protected]. You can also sign up for our ShopKind Helpline for instant guidance from an ASPCA expert while out grocery shopping or meal planning.