Impossible Foods Collaborates With Local Human to Address Food Insecurity

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Impossible Foods is collaborating with apparel retailer Local Human to address food insecurity in America, which has become an acute crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Together, the California-based startups are launching a limited edition, eco-friendly “Food Fam” t-shirt, which will be on sale only through July 31, 2020 at localhuman.co. Co-developed by Impossible’s in-house creative team, "Food Fam" represents the opportunity to come together to build a more equitable and sustainable food system.   

For each shirt sold, five Impossible Burgers will be donated to LA Regional Food Bank and $10 will be donated to No Kid Hungry. No Kid Hungry is working to ensure all kids get the food they need during this crisis and in its aftermath. 

“Food insecurity continues to rise in the US, and Black people continue to make up a disproportionate share of the hungry. Food Fam represents the opportunity for all of us to come together, take action against social injustice, and change our broken food system,” said Isaac Rochell, co-founder of Local Human and defensive end for the Los Angeles Chargers. “Local Human has been working to support urgent needs in our communities since the start of COVID-19, and Impossible Foods is the perfect partner to further expand our impact. We need to build a healthier planet for the future of our kids – and this starts with building a more equitable and sustainable food system immediately.”

The Hunger Crisis Behind the Pandemic

Despite America’s status as one of the richest countries on Earth, more than 11 million children in the United States live with "food insecurity." That means their homes don't have enough food for every family member to lead a healthy life. In normal times, one in seven US kids suffers from food insecurity.

The COVID-19 pandemic has turned the longstanding problem of hunger into an acute crisis. In addition, widespread school closures have eliminated a once-reliable source of free or subsidized breakfasts and lunches. Since April, more than one in five households in the United States, and two in five households with mothers with children 12 and under, are food insecure.

As the crisis mounts, Impossible Foods has expanded its 2-year-old donations program, which serves at-risk citizens -- from the homeless to students and families. Since the start of the pandemic, Impossible Foods has donated more than 100,000 pounds of product -- more than 500,000 quarter-pound Impossible Burgers -- to food banks.

In addition, Impossible Foods hosted a virtual Cook-A-Thon in May. The online variety show successfully raised $33,934 for No Kid Hungry, and featured award-winning chef Traci Des Jardins, director/actor/author/winemaker Eric Wareheim, actor and comedian Kal Penn, musician Richard Marx, and entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian. The event also celebrated the release of Impossible™: The Cookbook (Chronicle Books, $29.99). For each book sold on Amazon, $3 are donated to No Kid Hungry.  

“Impossible Foods is proud to partner with Isaac Rochell and the Local Human team to support the LA community,” said Jessica Appelgren, Vice President of Communications at Impossible Foods. “Local Human is using their platform and the power of design to mobilize the at-home population to help families and communities in need, and together we hope to invite more people into the important work of changing the food system.”

Delicious, Nutritious, Ubiquitous

Named top plant-based burger by the New York Times, Impossible Burger rivals ground beef from cows for taste, and it’s also nutritious and versatile in all ground meat recipes, including stews, chili, sauces, braises, minces, meatballs, meat pies or any other beefy menu item. It’s easy to cook on an outdoor BBQ grill, flat top, Instant Pot, high speed oven, steamer or sauté pan.

Inc. Magazine’s company of the year and one of Time Magazine’s 50 Genius companies, Impossible Foods continues to supply thousands of restaurants -- from large chains to mainstreet diners. Impossible Burger is available at Burger King, White Castle, Red Robin, Cheesecake Factory, Hard Rock Cafe and thousands of independent restaurants.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Impossible Foods has also accelerated its nationwide brick-and-mortar and online retail expansion, and has launched collaborations with restaurants nationwide to sell Impossible Burger inventory directly to consumers. Some of the most innovative restaurants, including Prairie in San Francisco, Grindhouse Killer Burgers in Atlanta and Founding Farmers in the Midatlantic region, have set up online “general stores” where they sell Impossible Burger inventory, food kits and cooked items in their kitchens and warehouses.

Impossible Burger is available at thousands of restaurants and more than 5,000 grocery stores nationwide. Please find the nearest location to you at www.impossiblefoods.com.

About Impossible Foods:

Based in California’s Silicon Valley, Impossible Foods makes delicious, nutritious meat and dairy products from plants — with a much smaller environmental footprint than meat from animals. The privately held food tech startup was founded in 2011 by Patrick O. Brown, M.D., Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry at Stanford University and a former Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. Investors include Mirae Asset Global Investments, Khosla Ventures, Bill Gates, Google Ventures, Horizons Ventures, UBS, Viking Global Investors, Temasek, Sailing Capital, and Open Philanthropy Project.

Impossible Foods was Inc. Magazine’s company of the year and one of Time Magazine’s 50 Genius companies. The flagship product, Impossible Burger, was named top plant-based burger by the New York Times and received the Food and Beverage (FABI) Award from the National Restaurant Association.

Media kit: www.impossiblefoods.com/media

Media Contact: Esther Cohn (pr@impossiblefoods.com)

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