Lets face it — people in the U.S. are busy. So busy, in fact, that fast food has become a big business that continues to thrive and grow. As an overall industry, the fast food industry rakes in $400 billion each year. Even with the economic slowdown, people still turn to fast food every single day. This in turn leads to food waste.
Fighting food waste
Families are busy. More often than not, both parents work and the kids have packed agendas too. The constant need to be on the go makes it difficult to find the time to prepare a home cooked meal each night. Even if families can find the time, they’re so exhausted by the end of the day that it’s easier to just pick up something on the way home or call for pizza delivery.
Oddly enough, this behavior leads to a lot of food waste. Portions are large and when you’re eating out every night, the leftovers often go to waste. We all have good intentions and want to prepare healthy meals for our families. Unfortunately, those veggies we bought last week and never cooked are now spoiled. If we don’t have backyard chickens or a compost pile, they end up in the garbage. Food waste is a big problem that is only compounded by our fast-paced culture.
There are many ways to address food waste, and one of those ways is instituting better meal planning. As much as it can feel constraining at first to adhere to a meal plan, it can be very freeing in the end. If you plan out your meals each week, making sure to choose meals that can be prepared easily and quickly, you’re more likely to adhere to that plan. If you just figure you’ll throw something together when you get home, you’re more likely to grab a pizza. Meal planning is also a great way to cut food costs.
Have you discovered that you’re one of those people that never has the time to create a meal plan and then go out and do the grocery shopping too? If so, then a meal delivery service might be something you will want to take a look at. There are an ever-increasing number of meal delivery services popping up on the market these days. The service is in big demand as people try to save time and money while getting healthy. One of the biggest challenges associated with these now popular meal delivery services is the creation of additional waste between packaging and delivery. Its a challenge that has one company thinking inside the box.
Meal delivery, done differently
Fortunately, one company has recognized that while there is a need (and demand) for meal delivery services, they are putting a strain on our environment too. That’s why they put together a business plan that could deliver fresh meals to your doorstep without leaving a huge footprint in the process. FreshRealm is a meal delivery service that is doing things differently.
At FreshRealm, we love good food and hate cardboard boxes. So we perfected the art of delivering fresh food, right to you.
Two steps
Instead of packing each individual ingredient in plastic bags, then packing those inside of a Styrofoam container that’s then packed inside of a cardboard box, FreshRealm developed an innovative delivery system to reduce waste.
Containers are 100% recyclable. Their state-of-the-art, reusable vessel allows them to deliver fresh meals to your home without creating additional waste.
Best of all, you can return the vessel to FreshRealm easily – and for free.
When your meal kit arrives, you take all of your food containers out of the box. They stack nice and neat in your fridge. The space saving design of the containers in the meal kit are great for even small fridges. Then you peel off the delivery label of the box to uncover the return label. Then FedEx will come pick up the vessel and you’re all set. While the cardboard boxes most companies use are recyclable, the inner Styrofoam containers are not, making this new vessel a huge win for our environment.
The container’s special design ensures the food stays fresh even if you aren’t home when the package is delivered. So you don’t have to worry about creating food waste just because you weren’t home all day. You can get home, open the container and your food will be chilled and ready for you to use.
Additionally, the FreshRealm containers are designed to carry the exact portions of food you need for your meal. So, unlike restaurants that give large portions that lead to food waste, you can be sure you’re only preparing portions that will actually be eaten.
Get fresh
If you haven’t used a meal delivery service before, they send you all of the ingredients you need to prepare a healthy meal. Then the instructions are included so you can quickly cook a healthy meal for your family in less time than it takes to order take out.
We source ingredients from the same leading produce suppliers and farmers that are featured in high-end natural food supermarkets in North America, so you know you’re getting incredible quality.
FreshRealm lets you be in control of how long your meals take to prepare. All of the meal kits offered by FreshRealm are designed by Tastemakers. The recipes are tried and true, so you can feel confident the meal kits you’re ordering have been tested and approved. Some of the Tastemakers featured are Momables, Cooking Light, Real Simple and more. So you can eat great food and take care of the environment at the same time. They have ready to eat foods, foods that just need to be warmed up in the microwave, meals that take just 15 minutes to prep and more. So you can gauge your schedule for the week and only choose meals that will fit in the time you have allotted to meal prep.
Best of all, you don’t have to fight the crowds at the grocery store so you save even more time. Oftentimes, produce has been sitting on the shelves for days at the grocery store. The food that’s delivered to your home from FreshRealm is up to 5 days fresher than if you were to buy at a grocery store. So there’s another bonus for reducing food waste there since it will last longer in your fridge.
Currently, FreshRealm is available in about 2/3 of the U.S. (West and East Coasts) with plans to expand to all 50 states. As they put it, ‘cooking has never been this easy.’
Feature image credit: FreshRealm