Bowl and Basket is a popular fast casual restaurant chain known for its customizable rice and pasta bowls, salads, and artisan sandwiches. However, one of their most popular menu items is their all-natural grilled chicken. Bowl and Basket prides itself on using high-quality ingredients, so customers often wonder – where exactly does Bowl and Basket source their delicious chicken from?
Bowl and Basket’s Chicken Sourcing Standards
According to Bowl and Basket’s website, their chicken is “100% all natural” with no hormones, steroids, or antibiotics ever. The chicken is humanely raised in a comfortable environment with an all-vegetarian diet. In addition, Bowl and Basket only uses chicken breast meat and hand trims their chicken to remove any excess fat or cartilage.
Bowl and Basket has strict standards when it comes to sourcing their chicken. They only work with suppliers who can verify that their chickens meet the following qualifications:
- No antibiotics ever
- 100% vegetarian diet with no animal by-products
- Humanely raised with shelter and enrichment
- No added hormones or steroids
- Global Animal Partnership (GAP) certified
By having clear sourcing standards, Bowl and Basket can ensure the chicken served in their restaurants aligns with their commitment to fresh, high-quality ingredients.
Approved Chicken Suppliers
Bowl and Basket has approved a handful of chicken suppliers that meet their strict sourcing standards. While their suppliers may vary by location, some of their top suppliers include:
- Bell & Evans – GAP Step 4 certified
- Mary’s Ranch – GAP Step 4 certified
- Foster Farms – GAP Step 2 certified
- Draper Valley Farms – GAP Step 1 certified
These chicken suppliers go through a rigorous approval process by Bowl and Basket to confirm that their chickens are raised humanely without antibiotics, added hormones, or animal by-products. By partnering with GAP certified suppliers, Bowl and Basket can ensure their chicken meets their promise of being “all natural.”
Bell & Evans
One of Bowl and Basket’s main chicken suppliers is Bell & Evans. Bell & Evans is a premium chicken brand based in Pennsylvania. All Bell & Evans chickens are:
- Raised cage-free
- Fed an all-vegetarian diet with no animal by-products
- Raised without antibiotics or added hormones/steroids
- Humanely raised with room to roam
In addition, Bell & Evans has attained GAP Step 4 certification, the highest level of GAP certification. This means Bell & Evans meets the highest standards for environment enrichment, living conditions, and humane treatment.
Mary’s Ranch
Mary’s Ranch is a family owned ranch in California that supplies antibiotic and hormone free chickens to Bowl and Basket locations on the West Coast. Key facts about Mary’s Ranch chicken include:
- No antibiotics ever
- Vegetarian fed diet
- Cage-free living with room to roam
- Humanely raised and handled
- GAP Step 4 certified
As a GAP Step 4 farm, Mary’s Ranch has been third-party audited to confirm their chickens are raised humanely in a low stress environment.
How the Chicken is Processed
Once the chickens reach maturity at one of Bowl and Basket’s approved farms, how are they safely and humanely processed for use in Bowl and Basket restaurants?
First, the chickens are transported short distances to processing plants. The chickens are handled as minimally as possible during transport and are provided with ample space. At the processing plants, the chickens are humanely stunned before processing to minimize stress.
Next, the chickens are processed for meat. The chicken breast meat is removed, trimmed of any fat or cartilage, and prepared for delivery to Bowl and Basket locations. Because Bowl and Basket specifies 100% chicken breast meat, other parts of the chicken are sold to other buyers.
Throughout processing, the chicken is subject to strict food safety controls and inspections. All facilities used must meet food safety and sanitation requirements.
The finished chicken breast meat is then quick frozen to maintain freshness and flavor. The frozen chicken is shipped to Bowl and Basket distribution centers and then delivered to restaurants. Each restaurant receives chicken breast meat from GAP certified sources to use in their dishes like grilled chicken bowls and sandwiches.
Why Bowl and Basket Goes Through Such Effort
When it comes to ingredients, Bowl and Basket lives by the motto “food should be fresh & flavorful.” For chicken, this means avoiding hormones, steroids, antibiotics, and animal by-products to serve natural, wholesome meat raised humanely.
Bowl and Basket takes special care to find suppliers that align with their values around sustainability, humane practices, and quality. Rather than going for cheaper chicken raised in crowded conditions, Bowl and Basket invests in premium chickens like Bell & Evans that customers can feel good about eating.
While it requires extra effort to source chickens from humanely raised, GAP certified farms, Bowl and Basket believes it is worth it. Not only does this process result in better tasting chicken, it also supports sustainable farming that is better for the planet and animal welfare.
Bowl and Basket also finds that customers increasingly care about transparency in sourcing. By being clear on where their chicken comes from and setting strict standards, Bowl and Basket can maintain customer trust.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Bowl and Basket use any chicken from factory farms?
No. Bowl and Basket maintains strict sourcing standards that prohibit buying chicken from factory farms. All of their chicken must be raised cage-free in humane, low stress environments.
Is the chicken at Bowl and Basket organic?
While the chicken is not certified organic, it is raised to high standards without antibiotics, added hormones, or animal by-products. Bowl and Basket focuses more on humane treatment and environmental enrichment than organic certification.
What parts of the chicken does Bowl and Basket use?
Bowl and Basket only uses 100% chicken breast meat. Other parts of the chicken are sold to other buyers.
Does Bowl and Basket do their own audits of chicken farms?
Bowl and Basket relies heavily on third-party GAP certification to ensure standards are met. Their approved suppliers have all undergone audits to attain GAP approval.
Does Bowl and Basket monitor animal welfare at farms?
Bowl and Basket stays actively engaged with their network of approved suppliers. However, the suppliers handle the day-to-day animal welfare monitoring and farming practices. Bowl and Basket reviews supplier policies and audits.
Bowl and Basket’s Chicken Supply Chain
Here is a summary of Bowl and Basket’s chicken supply chain from farm to restaurant:
| Stage | Process |
|---|---|
| Farm | Chickens humanely raised at GAP certified farms without antibiotics, hormones, or animal by-products |
| Transport | Live chickens transported short distances to processing plants |
| Processing | Chickens humanely harvested. Chicken breast meat removed and prepared for shipping. |
| Distribution | Frozen chicken breast shipped to Bowl and Basket distribution centers |
| Restaurant | Chicken delivered to restaurants to be used in grilled chicken bowls, sandwiches, salads, and more |
The Bottom Line
When it comes to sourcing quality ingredients, Bowl and Basket goes the extra mile – especially with chicken. By partnering with a small network of trusted farms that meet strict standards around humane practices and sustainability, Bowl and Basket can deliver all-natural chicken raised without antibiotics, hormones, or animal by-products.
While sourcing humanely raised chicken requires more effort, Bowl and Basket believes it results in better tasting, higher quality meat that customers can feel good about eating. So next time you bite into a grilled chicken sandwich or bowl at Bowl and Basket, know that you’re getting the best quality chicken from chickens that were raised right.