PUERTO RICO, — Videos and photos show how a Chick-fil-A restaurant in Puerto Rico has found a unique and heartwarming way to use its excess salad – by feeding manatees at the Caribbean Manatee Conservation Center (CMCC).
Once a week, Chick-fil-A Los Filtros donates its surplus romaine and green leaf lettuce to the CMCC. This donation feeds young, orphaned manatees and injured adult manatees undergoing rehabilitation at the center.
While many Chick-fil-A restaurants manage food scraps through composting, Chick-fil-A Los Filtros in Bayamón has taken a different approach.
“I have been a manatee lover since the age of five,” explains Caitlin Chávez, the local Owner-Operator of this Bayamón restaurant. “Never in my life did I think that I’d have the opportunity to feed and help save manatees as a Chick-fil-A Owner-Operator.”
Caitlin and her team members save excess lettuce, contributing about 200 pounds per visit to the CMCC.
“We need a lot of food to take care of these animals,” says Adriana Figueora, a staff member at the CMCC. “It’s amazing that a company like Chick-fil-A is helping us with our conservation efforts.”
Chick-fil-A Los Filtros is the only quick-service restaurant on the island actively donating surplus food to the center. The restaurant's support aids the CMCC's mission to conserve endangered manatees through rescue programs, rehabilitation, veterinary care, population research, and community outreach in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.
These efforts align with Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A, Inc.'s corporate social responsibility goal to divert more than 25 million pounds of food waste from landfills between 2020 and 2025.
“When we think about why Chick-fil-A exists – to have a positive influence on everyone who comes in contact with Chick-fil-A – that just happens to include manatees in this case,” Caitlin said.
