We believe that sustainability is not just a buzzword — it’s our commitment to a better future for our planet and our communities. As we join the Fresh Prep family, we are excited to introduce our innovative circular economy model to the East Coast.
What is a Circular Economy?
A circular economy is a regenerative system aimed at minimizing waste and making the most of resources. Unlike the traditional linear economy (take, make, dispose), a circular economy focuses on reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and recycling materials and products for as long as possible.
Our goal at Cook it is to provide a meal kit delivery service that is both convenient and waste-conscious. This is why we are adopting a circular economy approach, from food to packaging, at every step of the meal kit journey.
How will Cook it’s circular economy work?
1. DELIVERY
We’ll deliver our meal kits in new reusable cooler bags with reusable ice packs. We are also working towards making more of our recipes available in our patented Zero Waste Kit containers in the near future.
2. PICK UP
We’ll pick up reusable cooler bags and ice packs from customers, including recyclable single-use plastics when we drop off their next delivery.
3. SANITIZE & RECYCLE
Cooler bags, ice packs (and Zero Waste Kit containers when available) are sanitized for reuse, and returnable soft plastics are recycled responsibly.
4. RE-USE
The cycle starts all over again.
Returnable & reusable items
Zero Waste Kits
We will later deliver many meals in reusable containers we call Zero Waste Kits. Made from BPA-free reusable plastic and silicone parts, each Zero Waste Kit diverts around 19 grams of single-use plastic from landfills compared to traditional meal kits.
Zero Waste Kits are sanitized and reused many times. You rinse any kits you’ve used, put them back in the cooler bag and we pick them up when we deliver their next order.
Food waste
Alarmingly, around 58% of food produced in Canada is wasted or lost (Global Citizen, 2019) . Our meal kits come with pre-portioned ingredients, reducing the likelihood of having to throw away excess food.
We also work with food banks and local organizations that help redirect any surplus food to people facing food insecurity and hunger, instead of the landfill.
In 2022 alone, Fresh Prep prevented 105,145 lbs of food from being thrown away—donating an equivalent of 87,620 meals to people experiencing food insecurity in our communities.
Delivery fleet
Our new in-house delivery fleet will facilitate our circular economy, dropping off and picking up reusable packaging from customers.
Through our partnership with Onfleet, we offset the impact of our delivery fleet’s carbon dioxide emissions. With Onfleet, the CO2 impact of our delivery operations is calculated and we share costs to offset emissions by investing in Gold Standard, VCS, CAR and ACR-verified nature conservancy projects such as reforestation and old-growth forest protection.
Nurturing the future
At Cook it, we believe that sustainability in business is needed to protect our environment and that as a business, we have a responsibility to help reduce pollution and waste while promoting social well-being through sustainable resource management and economic innovation.
