We talk a lot about how kencko works tirelessly to make it more convenient, tasty, and pound-for-pound affordable for you, dear member or customer, to consume more fruits and vegetables. That’s the primary avenue through which we pursue our company-wide mission: making it easier for more people to eat more fruits and vegetables. 

However, it’s not the only one. For many people in the world, even being able to stress about getting their five-a-day is a privilege. But just because someone is more concerned about where their next meal will come from than what’s in their next meal, that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to eat well. 

As a Certified B Corporation®, or B Corp™, we hold ourselves to and are judged on stringent standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. And one way we ensure we are living our values is by lending a hand to those facing hunger.

Our Giving in review

We’re still tabulating our 2023 totals, but with the giving season fast approaching, we wanted to share our fruit and veggie-based contributions from the preceding year – and if you feel so inclined to give to any of the organizations we supported, we wholeheartedly encourage you to do so!

In America

In the States, an organization we’ve long partnered with is the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, a non-profit that – you guessed it – battles hunger all over New Jersey. Over the course of 2022, we made three separate donations of smoothies to the Food Bank. The first was 47,888 smoothies, the second was 42,750, and the third was 118,963 smoothies. That’s 209,601 smoothies in total last year – the equivalent of roughly 524,000 servings of organic produce delivered straight to New Jersey residents in need.

Overseas

Since the majority of our manufacturing is based in Europe, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent war hits close to home. To play a small part in providing relief to those impacted by the war, we made a donation of a wide range of kencko products to Ukraine. This donation included 87,500 packs of gumdrops, 3,500 smoothies, and 2,230 bowls. That’s the fresh equivalent of 105,170 servings of organic fruits and vegetables.

Birthday donations

Additionally, kencko makes a $20 (or €20 / £20), depending on employee location) donation to the charity of an employee’s choice on their birthday each year. It’s a great way to ensure we’re staying engaged with and supporting a wide range of causes, outside of the scope of the ones we more directly address through our business operations.

It’s become a cherished tradition at kencko for colleagues to share their chosen charity on their birthday, along with a brief personal story about why they picked it. All of us choose causes close to our hearts, and many members of our team also wind up naming a charity that aligns with our core missions: sustainability and making eating more plants easier. One popular destination for birthday donations is Mossy Earth, which aims to rewild natural spaces globally. Another is ReFood, a Portuguese organization that simultaneously cuts down on food waste and addresses hunger.

Other initiatives we’ve donated to in recent months include Alzheimer Portugal, Soi Dog (an animal shelter in Portugal), and the Trevor Project (which offers support to LGBTQ+ youth).

The last 12 months have seen big changes at kencko, with the launch and growth of our retail presence. We’ve been working behind the scenes on ways to extend our giving in line with this new chapter in our company’s story, and we’ll be able to update you soon. In the meantime, we want to wish you and yours a healthy, happy and peaceful holiday season, from all of us at kencko.