Following a supply crisis which led to around 160 restaurant closures in the U.K. this week, KFC decided to donate the surplus of chicken to U.K. food charities and food banks instead of throwing it a land fill.
However, not all charities are prepared for such a generous donation. Many of them complained that they lack the resources to transport and process such large quantities of chicken, while others were concerned that the chicken may be unsafe to eat.
KFC reportedly has thousands of tons of unused chicken lying in an unregistered deposit in Rugby, Warwickshire. Earlier this week, the fast-food chain said that it would be forced to throw away at least some of the poultry after the crisis.
The restaurant wants to minimize the amount of meat to go to waste and has been in talks with at least one charity about a potential donation.
KFC Wants to Donate the Surplus Chicken to Food Charities
When Twitter users asked the company if the chicken would go to waste, KFC replied that “some will inevitably be wasted, which we hate” and suggested that donations to food charities could be a solution.
Some will inevitably be wasted, which we hate. We are working as hard as we can to make this number as small as possible. One route we are working on is donations to food charities.
— KFC UK & Ireland (@KFC_UKI) February 21, 2018
- However, a report from The Guardian shows that most U.K. charities don’t want to accept the chicken.
- FareShare, a U.K.-based charity poised to eliminate food waste, wanted additional safety checks for the chicken.
FareShare’s head underlined that the charity’s food is of “good quality” and “in-date”. The group wants to ensure that the chicken was stored in a proper way. Rugby food bank stated that they hate food waste as well, but they don’t accept perishable foods as they don’t have freezers.
The Trussell Trust, which manages hundreds of food banks across the country, said KFC did not contact them for a donation. Food charity FoodCycle said they don’t take chicken donations because if the chicken is not properly handled people could end up poisoned.
Image Source: Wikimedia
