Kits often involve more packaging waste but factors such as the supply chain and portion size mean overall impact may be less

Meal-prep kits are often more environmentally friendly than the average trip to the grocery store, according to a University of Michigan study.

Researchers at the School of Environment and Sustainability found that, on average, while kits provided by companies like Blue Apron, Sun Basket and HelloFresh often do involve more packaging waste, the emissions for grocery store meals carried two kilograms more of carbon dioxide per meal than those of the meal-prep kits.

“There are lots of people who really liked meal kits but were saying ‘Ah, there’s so much plastic and I feel so bad because [it’s] so terrible environmentally,” said Dr Shelie Miller, one of the primary researchers. “I said ‘You know, I bet if we take a bigger picture look, they may not turn out to be that bad.’ Just largely because of the pre-portioned ingredients and potentially, the lack of food waste.”

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Using five different Blue Apron meals, the researchers tracked and compared the lives of the meals through several different environmental lenses, concluding the disparity in emissions was mostly due to the supply chain and the portions of food. The extra steps stores take to source food add up to more carbon dioxide, as well as encourage food waste.

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“It really is the food and the food waste that dictate the environmental impact,” Miller said.

While the meals did come from Blue Apron, the company did not sponsor the study – but were obviously pleased with the result. “Blue Apron has long been driven by our vision of building a better food system,” said Dr Alison Grantham, their agro-ecologist and director of procurement. “We are delighted to see the positive benefits of our direct-to-consumer model materialize in lower life cycle greenhouse gas emissions.”

Meal-prep kits like Blue Apron can be expensive, but there are other solutions for those who would like to be environmentally conscious. “One strategy that has been shown both to reduce food waste but will ultimately also save consumers money is meal planning,” said Brent Heard, the other researcher associated with the study. “It will decrease the amount of food you need to purchase at the store … In line with this, another thing consumers can do is try to purchase food in the smallest portion sizes. Try to select foods that are as close to pre-portioned as possible.”

The study did not take into account people who participate in alternative forms of grocery purchasing, like community-supported agriculture. Despite this, both Heard and Miller agree the central message behind the study does not change. “The study really motivates looking beyond what’s directly in front of us when we think about the environmental impacts of a product,” says Heard.