HELP YOUR MEALS ON WHEELS DITCH DISPOSABLES
Beyond Plastics has launched a project to help Meals on Wheels programs across the country to switch from damaging, single-use disposable plastics to reusable meal delivery trays. Making the switch to reusables is a win-win for both the programs and the environment.
For example, a single Meals on Wheels program that feeds 5 meals a week to 500 people could save $32,000 in material costs in just the first year of making the switch, as well as save 26,650 gallons of water, divert 292.5 cubic yards of waste from the landfill, and reduce its climate change emissions equivalent to taking 1.7 standard passenger vehicles off U.S. roads for a full year. Check out the fact sheet below for more details on the benefits of making this switch.
Do you work at or manage a Meals on Wheels program or are you a senior services representative or a community member that wants to learn more and help Meals on Wheels switch to reusable containers? Click this link to get involved.
Get the Guide
We’ve created a helpful manual to guide any meal delivery service that’s interested in switching to reusable trays through all the considerations and decisions involved.
The guide is based on the real-world experiences of Meals on Wheels programs around the country that successfully employ reusable trays and offers practical advice, tools, resources, and case studies.
You can download the guide as a PDF in either web or print resolution:
Want To Get Involved?
We are working with the good folks at Meals on Wheels America (the national organization for these local programs) and with Plastic-Free Restaurants who can provide very helpful start-up funding to help MOW programs purchase reusable trays to spread this idea and make it reality. But we’d love to have your help, too.
If you work at or volunteer with a Meals on Wheels program or are interested in reaching out to your local Meals on Wheels program about switching to reusables, we’d love to have your help! Or if you can help connect us with volunteers, groups, and government staff who might be interested in taking this project up, we’d love your help with that. Fill out this short form to let us know you’re interested.
Spread The Word
We’ve put together a simple toolkit to make it easy to spread the word about this handy new guide to help meal delivery programs ditch disposables and make the switch to reusable dishes and trays.
Get Individual Support
Alexis Goldsmith, our National Organizing Director is available to provide hand-holding, troubleshooting and guidance to anyone who wants to engage in this project.
Contact Us
Questions? Ideas? You can contact Alexis directly at: alexisgoldsmith at bennington dot edu.
Watch & Share
Our friends at The Story of Stuff Project made a great, very short film about Spectrum Community Services, one of the programs we worked closely with in drafting our manual that has ditched costly, wasteful disposables and transitioned to serving and delivering their meals in reusable dishware and bags. Watch to learn more and share to raise awareness >>
