The Russian doll of the food industry

If you've ever had the pleasure of receiving an Equal Food basket at your door, you've probably noticed its raw and organic feel. Free of styrofoam or cellophane, meaning no plastic packaging like is common in the food industry.

Just a cardboard box, sometimes with a strange raw paper bag, and a vibrant array of fresh fruits and vegetables waiting to be devoured. If you haven't yet experienced this pleasure, you can start thinking about it here .

At Equal Food, we are transforming one of the biggest wastes in the food industry into a fully circular cycle:

In other words, the materials we use are chosen with intention and moderation. On average, the packaging used in distribution accounts for between 5 and 10% of the total GHG emissions released throughout the life cycle of a food product.

In many cases, the materials used in packaging within the food industry have a worse environmental impact than the fuel used to grow and transport the food. This is without even mentioning the plastic bags used to transport food, and the packaging in which those plastic bags are transported.

One of our greatest missions is to raise awareness about the impact our actions can have on the planet and our future. At Equal Food, we fight against food waste in the food industry without excluding sustainability, affordable and healthy food, and the fight against climate change.

The modern food industry has become a veritable Russian doll of plastic packaging. But at Equal Food, we're doing things differently and changing that narrative.

The boxes we use are made from fully biodegradable cardboard, which has one of the smallest environmental footprints of all materials. The same applies to the paper bags we sometimes use to protect more delicate foods, such as mushrooms.

But that's not all! In line with the fundamental principles of a circular economy, "reduce, reuse, recycle ," we also encourage all our subscribers to return their empty boxes whenever the next one is delivered.

In this way, we can reuse them as long as they remain functional. And although we may still need to buy new boxes from time to time, we recently identified an opportunity to use the very boxes we receive our bananas from Madeira in, allowing both the bananas and the cardboard to be saved from unnecessary waste!

It's important to understand how we can be so circular in our packaging within the food industry, reducing the ecological footprint of the distribution chain. Because our products are local and seasonal, we reduce the footprint and bring the best colors and flavors to your doorstep.

But do you want to be sure that Equal Food won't cause you an environmental headache?

Our values ​​are intersectional, and our mission against food waste guarantees our commitment to sustainability.

There are three main ecological fronts in our sustainable fight against waste in the food industry. In addition to a plastic-free policy, based on the circularity of our packaging and biodegradable products, we advocate for the planet in two other ways:

1. Reducing the ecological footprint

At Equal Food, we strive to minimize the ecological footprint of transporting our (im)perfect food. Did you know that using a home grocery delivery service can cut carbon dioxide emissions in half compared to an individual trip to the supermarket? Most of the reduction in fuel and emissions is achieved when deliveries are made within the same neighborhood, rather than back-and-forth trips.

Therefore, we chose to invest in local and regional farmers and producers, and we designed our routes in an optimized way. In other words, we worked to shorten transportation time and the resulting greenhouse gas emissions.

In our efforts to reduce our ecological footprint, we also utilize deliveries made, in part, with electric vehicles. We work as distributors who also embrace change. Thus, we plan and optimize our routes to emit the minimum possible emissions.

2. Sustainable partnerships

Regarding our partnerships with our local and regional farmers, we always ensure production with the greatest possible minimization of water and soil waste, as well as CO2 emissions used in their production.

We seek to consolidate a sustainable value chain from our suppliers to the delivery of our products. If you would like to learn more about our farmers, their stories, and how we work together, you can find more information here .