In a recent post by Mind Body Green, Emma Loewe dissects the ways in which most meal-kit companies are actually more environmentally friendly than they may be perceived. Loewe points out the many ways that meal-kit companies work to ensure that their products are always fresh, eco-friendly, and of course, delicious!
Loewe discusses the cons and pros of packaged meals, including the amount of packaging that goes into each of them, while also pointing out that
“[w]ith all of the packaging involved, it’s easy to forget that meal kits are actually founded on some pretty eco-friendly principles. For one, many of them provide plant-rich recipes that are delicious enough to get people excited about the prospects of eating more veggies, even those who are used to meat being the focal point of every meal—and we all know by now that swapping meat for plants is a proven way to majorly reduce your personal environmental impact…”[p]lus, meal kits portion ingredients beforehand, which reduces food waste. Considering 20 percent of the food we buy in the United States never gets eaten, it’s helpful to have smaller portions of products we tend to buy too much of (like herbs). You can be sure that these companies are doing everything they can to reduce the amount of food waste left in their facilities too, since their profit margins depend on using up every last thing.””
Another pro Loewe discuses is the food preservation and conservation that comes with using meal kits. Our co-founder, Hannah de Boer discuss the potential grocery stores have to minimize the incredible amount of food waste that occurs every year.
There’s potential for the market to grow in ways that will make grocery stores less wasteful, too. “Many customers do not understand the incredibly high amounts of fresh foods that grocery stores waste,” explains de Boer of Meisterdish. She says that the green salad section, vegetables, and fruits are the areas with the highest waste—up to 50 percent in some cases, but 10 to 20 percent on average. Meisterdish is hoping to one day team up with grocery stores to help them use this leftover inventory to make made-to-order meal kits that can be sold at deli counters.
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