El Pollo Loco Launches Valenkind’s Day Campaign to Help Fight Food Insecurity in Los Angeles

COSTA MESA, Calif., Feb. 08, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- El Pollo Loco, Inc. (“El Pollo Loco” or “Company) (Nasdaq: LOCO), the nation’s leading fire-grilled chicken restaurant chain, is turning Valentine’s Day into Valenkind’s Day with a campaign to extend love and kindness to community members in its hometown of LA who are struggling with hunger and homelessness.

For every El Pollo Loco Family Dinner purchased this Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, El Pollo Loco Charities will donate $1 to Food on Foot, a nonprofit that assists the homeless and low-income in LA by providing nutritious meals, clothing, education, and more. El Pollo Loco’s goal is to raise enough money to provide 10,000 meals to those in need.

“The world is grappling with a host of difficulties and challenges right now and food insecurity has been greatly exacerbated by the pandemic, so we wanted to make this Valentine’s Day a true celebration of love by extending it to the people in our community who are most in need of care and support,” El Pollo Loco President and Chief Executive Officer Bernard Acoca said.

El Pollo Loco is committed to giving back to the communities it serves and has partnered with Food on Foot for the past 22 years to provide chicken meals to LA residents who are in need. The money that will be raised through the Valenkind’s campaign is expected to provide over 10,000 meals to homeless individuals — about enough to feed the people who rely on Food on Foot’s Sunday Meals Program for a full year.

"El Pollo Loco has been a devoted partner to Food on Foot for over two decades and every week at our Sunday Servings event, their chicken meals bring joy to children, families and people with disabilities who face extraordinary circumstances with infrequent access to food,” Food on Foot founder Jay Goldinger said. “We are thrilled to deepen our relationship with El Pollo Loco and are truly humbled by their incredible generosity.”

In addition to the campaign, El Pollo Loco is offering a Valentine’s Day e-gift card available for purchase on elpolloloco.com/gift-cards.

About Food on Foot
Food on Foot is a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting the homeless and low-income people of Los Angeles through programs that provide nutritious meals, clothing, work opportunities and ultimately, the transition to full-time employment and life off the streets. Food on Foot’s Work for Food (jobs and housing) program empowers high-functioning homeless men and women with the tools, resources, skills and confidence needed to leave the streets as self-sustaining members of society. Graduates from the program earn a full-time job, a fully furnished apartment, a life-skills education, a $5,000 savings (their paycheck earnings while in the program) and a huge boost in confidence. For its Sunday Meals program, Food on Foot distributes food and clothing to upwards of 250 homeless people at their serving location in Hollywood every Sunday. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Food on Foot is also distributing masks, hand-sanitizer, and hygiene kits. For more information, visit FoodOnFoot.org or contact Rob Danson at rob@foodonfoot.org.

About El Pollo Loco
El Pollo Loco (Nasdaq:LOCO) is the nation’s leading fire-grilled chicken restaurant with a mission to bring people together around food, family, and culture in the communities it serves. El Pollo Loco is renowned for its handcrafted L.A. Mex food, an innovative blend of traditional Mexican cuisine and better-for-you eating, that Los Angeles is known for. Since 1980, El Pollo Loco has successfully opened and maintained more than 480 company-owned and franchised restaurants in Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas, Utah, and Louisiana while remaining true to its Mexican-American heritage. El Pollo Loco continues to grow and evolve, nourishing connections to tradition, culture, and one another through fire-grilled goodness that makes us feel like familia. For more information, visit us at ElPolloLoco.com.

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MEDIA CONTACT:
Hannah Gray
Edible
323-206-0800
hannah.gray@edible-inc.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/97e7917e-f13b-411d-bfa3-db75d0e4b39b.