WRITTEN BY CASEY BERNARD
When Kate Pilotte returned to her hometown of Castine last year, she carried with her plans to put a Maine spin on popular meal kit delivery services with her company Farm & Fish. She expected to create a locally-focused sustainable option for those who wanted to cook at home with the convenience of a meal kit. What she did not expect was that she would quickly become a champion for changing the Maine food code to allow businesses to use reusable packaging.
As a working professional living in New Hampshire, Pilotte enjoyed the convenience of meal kits which provide pre-portioned ingredients and recipes to make cooking a variety of meals easier. Pilotte saw the opportunity to bring a similar offering to Maine. Before starting her business, she conducted market research and learned customers who enjoyed meal kits wanted a solution made with Maine-grown ingredients and reduced packaging waste.
Popular brands like Hello Fresh and Blue Apron claim to help reduce food waste by including only the ingredients needed for one meal. For example, if a recipe calls for a small amount of parsley, instead of buying an entire bunch, the home cook receives only the amount needed for the recipe. However, those small individual ingredients are generally wrapped in plastic bags and delivered in a cardboard box with ice packs. Regular meal kit customers soon find that while they may be reducing food waste, they are consuming a lot of packaging.
To tackle the packaging problem, Pilotte set out to use reusable containers that customers would return each week for cleaning and reuse as they received their next order. But, as she finalized her licensing for a food-based business she learned that the Maine food code did not allow for businesses to use reusable, returnable containers for food and beverage items.
“I realize now I was a bit naive,” she said. “My basement is full of reusable containers I couldn’t use.”
Disappointed but not defeated, Pilotte started her business with the most sustainable packaging she could find, including compostable fiber-based packaging, and only using plastic packaging when no other option was available. At the same time, she reached out to her local representatives for support. With the help of Senator Nicole Grohoski, a bill changing the state food code that had been in the works gained momentum. The bill would amend the food policy laws “to allow a business owner to sell the business’s products to consumers in returnable, reusable, or refillable containers and packaging, which may be supplied by either the business or a 3rd party.”
At a hearing in January, not only did representatives from businesses like Farm & Fish testify for the changes, but student leaders and environmental organizations also spoke in support of the bill. Other supporters of the bill demonstrated that the change to the code could also open up new business opportunities. Matt Marks from CLYNK, the bottle redemption and recycling company, described how Oregon Beverage and Recycling Cooperative uses a similar model for redistributing bottles for the craft beverage industry. He said that CLYNK’s technology and existing drop-off locations are poised to support the deposit and return systems that could facilitate more reusable packaging around Maine.
“This law will have a direct impact on an innovative small business in my district,” said Sen. Grohoski. “Expanding the voluntary and safe use of reusable containers is a great economic opportunity for Maine. Reusable containers have been shown to cut a business’s bottom line and there are business opportunities for logistics companies that can provide, collect, clean, and redistribute reusable containers.”
On March 6, 2024, Governor Janet Mills signed LD 2091 into law. As soon as the process for following the new food code is available, Pilotte looks forward to putting the reusable containers she has been storing in her basement to use and reuse.