One of the core company values at Jeffrey A. Miller Catering (JAM) is sustainability. They had already started sourcing more ingredients locally and reduced the use of disposable products in some areas, but when Executive Chef Angelo Grasso looked at how they were storing and transporting ingredients he saw a big problem.
JAM makes everything in a central commissary and dispatches it on trucks to 16 locations around the Philadelphia area. They would put food in plastic buckets and deli containers covered with plastic wrap to keep them secure. Grasso realized this combination was not only costing them tens of thousands of dollars but it was also negatively impacting the environment.
“We tried to reuse [deli containers], but they’re not really supposed to be reused all that much. They wear out, they break, they get cracked…,” said Derek Steel, Research and Development Chef at JAM. “The main problem with them though is that the lids don’t really stay on.”
In addition to deli containers, JAM used a variety of other limited-time use containers for larger portions of ingredients. Ultimately, they would send out up to 5,000 pieces a week—all covered in plastic wrap to keep them secure.
According to JAM, they purchased 171 boxes of 18-inch plastic wrap in 2023; at 1,000 yards per box, that’s over 97 miles of plastic wrap.
“We decided there must be a better way to do that,” said Steel.
JAM found durable CamSquares® FreshPro 12 qt., 4 qt., 2 qt. 1 qt. and ½ qt. sizes that are designed to withstand the rigors of consistent use and transport.
“[The Cambro containers] have lids that are tight fitting enough and the plastic is rigid enough that we can use them without having to wrap them in plastic as long as we pack them correctly,” said Steel.
Not only are they saving money and waste, but they also realized the Cambro containers require less labor too.
“It’s a lot less work to not have to take all that plastic wrap off. Typically, when we get to an event, the chef will spend at least 15 minutes unwrapping everything. Now, just take the lid off,” said Steel.
Jeffrey A. Miller Catering (JAM) is a large catering company headquartered in the Philadelphia area. Click here to read more about how they’re becoming more sustainable.
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AUTHOR: ADRIANA COCHRAN IS THE DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER AT CAMBRO.
