Fort Wayne facility will create 100 jobs and divert food waste from up to 450 supermarkets
Do Good Foods (DGF) plans to open an animal feed production facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana, by the end of 2024, according to reports.
Do Good Foods is a sustainable foods producer that uses surplus from grocery stores and farmers markets to produce animal feed.
The US$100 million project is expected to create 100 jobs and be completed by the end of 2024.
“We’re excited about the expansion of DGF into the Fort Wayne market,” said Matt Kamine, co-CEO of Do Good Foods. “This project is a great opportunity for DGF to work with the local community on bringing more sustainable solutions to Fort Wayne and the retailers and food service providers located there.”
Based on the company’s job creation plans, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. (IEDC) committed an investment in KDC Agribusiness Fort Wayne LLC, dba Do Good Foods, of up to US$1.2 million in the form of incentive-based tax credits and up to US$100,000 in conditional training grants. These tax credits are performance-based, meaning the company is eligible to claim incentives once Indiana residents are hired and trained. Northeast Indiana Works will provide the company with additional hiring and training assistance. The Fort Wayne City Council will consider additional incentives.
“Do Good Foods takes Indiana’s advancements in sustainable food production to the next level and propels the state’s progress in clean energy,” said Gov. Eric Holcomb. “Taking food waste, the No. 1 material in America’s landfills, and upcycling it to feed our livestock is the type of ingenuity we encourage and cultivate in Indiana.”
The facility will divert food waste from up to 450 supermarkets, repurposing about 60,000 tons of food waste on an annual basis. This reduces the amount of food waste and associated greenhouse gas emissions in area landfills.
“Gov. Holcomb and I are ecstatic to welcome Do Good Foods to Indiana,” said Secretary of Commerce Brad Chambers. “Their business model helps expand the circular economy here in the Hoosier state, building on Indiana’s momentum to shift away from the consumption of finite resources to more sustainable alternatives.”
With the mission to reduce and ultimately eliminate food waste, Do Good Foods upcycles excess food into nutrient-dense animal feed, which is then fed to chickens. Each Do Good Chicken saves approximately four pounds of surplus groceries from being thrown away, preventing approximately three pounds of greenhouse gases. The company’s first product, Do Good Chicken, is available in grocery stores in northeast Indiana and will soon be available nationwide.
