Kipster donates 34,000 pounds of chicken rooster meat to food banks

In collaboration with Fresh Connect Central, Gleaners Food Bank and Feeding America, people in need received over 34,560 pounds of Kipster rooster meat. Second Harvest Heartland in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, received the donation. They made sure it reached 59 counties across central Minnesota and western Wisconsin. That’s a whole lot of nutritous food going to families who really need it!

Kipster and sustainable practices

Jeff McDonald, Senior Director of Fresh Connect Central, said, “Receiving this generous donation of chicken rooster meat from Kipster shows their dedication to sustainable practices and community support. Thanks to Kipster, we’re able to provide 41,472 healthy meals to people across the nation!” See the video here.

Why Kipster donates chicken rooster meat

At Kipster, we believe in using every part of our farm’s ecosystem in the most sustainable way possible. That includes raising roosters (yes, those boys born on egg farms too!). Traditionally, roosters are culled shortly after hatching in the egg industry. Kipster is all about finding ways to avoid this. Our goal? Use these roosters to create high-quality animal protein while sticking to our mission of sustainability and animal welfare.

We’re still working on how to bring this chicken meat to stores. That’s because the U.S. meat supply chain isn’t quite set up for the roosters of layer breeds just yet. However we didn’t want this nutritious food to go to waste. That’s why we partnered with Fresh Connect Central to make sure this meat goes to families who need it most.

Sandra Vijn, managing director of Kipster U.S., said, “We decided that a donation was the best way to ensure this food has a positive impact. In the meantime we explore ways to offer this meat to consumers. We’re grateful for our partnership with Fresh Connect Central and Feeding America to help make this happen.”

What about Kipster and In-Ovo Sexing?

As an interim step, we are committing to using in-ovo sexing technology to prevent the culling of one-day old male chicks. This cutting-edge approach allows for the gender determination of chick embryos during incubation of the hatching eggs before they develop sentience, aiming to prevent the hatching of males. We continue to evaluate the best way forward. We remain committed to finding the most responsible solutions for both our farm, the chickens, and the planet.