Chicken Town- Crowdfunding Socially Responsible Chicken

by Startacus Admin

Okay, we get it, you're all sick to the back teeth of hearing about how the foods that you love are going to kill you. They are too high in fat. They are too high in salt. They are too high in sugar. They are evil and if you eat them, untold horrors await you.

We're hearing a lot of problems and not many solutions; unless of course you think that "eating more lettuce" constitutes a solution... if so, more power to you.

We have recently stumbled across a fab little crowdfunding project that is offering a somewhat more realistic proposition, in the face of what is fast becoming a national health crisis.

Chicken Town is hoping to flip our preconceptions of fast food right on their head by establishing a fried chicken restaurant in Tottenham that serves not greasy, high fat, high salt, delicious-but-deadly style food, but healthy, nutritious, versions of all our fried chicken favourites.

All of their chicken will be free range and served alongside healthy options like corn, salads, sweet potatoes, and coconut rice. Hmmmm all sounds very trendy and expensive right? Wrong! Chicken Town will be a not-for-profit social enterprise and thus will be able to offer its delicious healthy meals at the same price as local fast food chicken outlets. Their menu will also include a junior special for just £2, giving local school kids a realistic and affordable alternative to the traditional lunchtime and after school grease-fest that is now so available and convenient to them.

The project also aims to place healthy eating education at the heart of what they do by working closely with schools and providing them with iglus (a type of chicken coop) so that kids can get a better connection with the food they eat. They will also provide vital training for the borough's youth, as well as paying the London living wage to their workers, making Chicken Town a great example to other businesses in the local area and beyond. The folks at Chicken Town describe the main motivations behind the project.

"In Tottenham, almost one in four reception age children is overweight or obese. By the time they get to year six (at 10-11 years old), that figure has risen to more than one in three. Parts of Tottenham are real hotspots, and obesity levels are significantly higher than the national average. School pupils here don’t have to go more than a few hundred metres to find cheap, calorific food – on a mile-long stretch of our high street, there are 34 fast food outlets. That food is accessible, affordable and for many young people, an accepted part of their regular diet".

At our last count, Chicken Town has raised just over £16K of their £50K target, with 16 days still to go, so now is the time to get on board and show your support for this innovative and socially responsible not-for-profit.

I mean, crowdfunding, social good, responsible business, delicious fried chicken... what's not to like?  If you are going to launch your own crowdfunding campaign, our free crowdfunding support package could help you reach your target. 

• #crowdfunding
• #chicken restaurant
• #chicken town

Published on: 7th April 2015