Service Foods going cage-free!

SAFE is excited to announce the country’s second largest foodservice company, Service Foods, has produced a 2025 cage-free policy for all shell eggs.   

Over Easter, SAFE delivered a giant Easter card asking Service Foods to have a heart for hens and name the date it will officially go cage-free. We were delighted to see this struck a chord with Service Foods leadership, who proved eager to join SAFE as we work towards a cage-free future. With over 7,000 customers nationwide, this is a big win for hens! 

This cage-free commitment epitomises how companies are responding to people making animal welfare a priority when they shop. Service Foods’ announcement adds yet another voice to a growing chorus of companies saying no to cage cruelty. With the food sector’s major purchasers and suppliers now turning away from cage eggs, the NZ egg farming industry needs to face the fact that cage eggs will soon be a thing of the past.   

“Service Foods’ cage-free policy confirms the fact that a new standard has been set within the foodservice industry,” says SAFE Head of Campaigns Marianne Macdonald. “People are rejecting the cruelty in the egg industry, and food suppliers and distributors are listening. It is time for competing companies within the foodservice industry to produce cage-free policies of their own.”  

Service Foods’ cage-free policy follows closely behind its biggest competitor, Bidfood New Zealand, which announced it would become cage-free by 2024.  

Take Action: 

• Want to create more change for chickens? Join the online team to help secure future wins for animals and further progress in NZ.