Los Angeles School District Awards Don Lee Farms as Plant-Based Strategic Supplier

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Los Angeles Unified School District has chosen Don Lee Farms to be their first strategic vegan protein supplier for the next 5 years. Don Lee Farms is a multi-generational family producer of plant-based and meat proteins for some of the world’s most recognized and successful brands, including Costco, Trader Joe’s, Walmart and Albertsons Companies. The City selected Don Lee Farms based on their ability to drive innovation in the plant-based space, their market leadership as the go-to maker of vegan foods and their ability to deliver safe and nutritious foods at scale.

“We’re so honored to be chosen by the Los Angeles Unified School District as a strategic vegan protein supplier. Our family food company has been a trusted local provider of proteins to the district since 1982,” said Donald Goodman, President, Don Lee Farms. “We have decades of experience making plant-based proteins and using extruded proteins to make delicious foods that are backed by our multi-generational manufacturing know-how and a passion for culinary innovation. The Los Angeles Unified School District has served our blended proteins, beef combined with plant-based extruded proteins made to mimic the taste, texture, appearance and nutritional profile of beef, since we started our relationship 40 years ago.”

Don Lee Farms makes, co-manufactures and assembles vegan and plant-based foods under the Don Lee Farms brand and under brands of their partners.

Don Lee Farms is one of the largest suppliers of meat and plant-based proteins for the School Lunch Program. In 2019, they launched America’s first plant-based nugget made just for kids: the Better Than Chicken™ Nugget. They are the first chickenless nugget to exceed School Lunch Program nutrition requirements.

About Donald Goodman:

Donald Goodman is the Founder and President of Don Lee Farms. In 2022, Mr. Goodman was named Los Angeles Business Journal’s “Philanthropist of the Year.” The Los Angeles Regional Foodbank profiled Donald Goodman as “a visionary philanthropist who has been involved with the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank for nearly 40 years.” They continued, “His company, Don Lee Farms, has been a food donor for nearly 40 years, donating millions of pounds of protein food and dairy items valued in the tens of millions of dollars.”

U.S. Congresswoman Maxine Waters presented Don Lee Farms and Donald Goodman a Congressional Certificate of Special Recognition for supporting scholarships to outstanding high school students in the City of Inglewood. Mr. Goodman was nominated for the Los Angeles Times CEO Leadership Award, an award for outstanding individuals who are impacting change.

About Don Lee Farms:

Established in California in 1982, Don Lee Farms is a family-owned producer of fresh and frozen foods for some of the world's most recognized and successful brands. Don Lee Farms makes plant-based and meat proteins for over 10,000 markets, clubs, foodservice and school foodservice locations. Consumer products and end items are sold at major retailers nationwide such as Costco Wholesale, Whole Foods Markets, Trader Joes, Kroger, Publix, HEB and Albertsons Companies under the Don Lee Farms label, private brands and under brands of their partners. For more information, visit www.DonLeeFarms.com or follow Don Lee Farms on Facebook and Twitter, @DonLeeFarms.