The Challenge: Clamshell trays were not staying closed, creating the potential for spilled meals, compromising food temperature and safety.
The Solution: Our Speedseal CX Model 1308 CX Model 1308 Countertop System. Two and three compartment meal trays—item numbers 61797, 61798, 61229 and 61230, sealed with clear ovenable film lidding.
The Results: Labor savings; eliminated a chaotic, rushed process; improved meal presentation, food safety, and reduced food waste from spilled meals
Customer Profile: Peekskill City School District
Director: Andrew Weisman
Supper Program: 300-400 a day
Andrew Weisman, Food Service Director at Peekskill City School District in Peekskill, NY, introduced a new supper program this school year (2022/23) and selected a fiber clamshell to package these grab-and-go meals. After the day's lunch was served and cleaned up, Andrew and four nutrition team members would begin packaging the supper meals into the fiber clamshell package. With a tight timeline to get meals prepped and ready for pick up, the process was "chaotic," Andrew shared. He quickly realized the clamshell was lending to a bit of a mess. It was prone to pop open, sometimes causing a need to repackage meals, resulting in food loss and taking additional time, food and packaging to finish a day's supper meals. Andrew had to find a fix for the supper program.
Based on a recommendation from nearby Union City Public Schools (NJ), Andrew reached out to Oliver to see if our Speedseal® Packaging System could resolve the challenges he was experiencing with his supper program. Oliver's Speedseal Packaging System hit on both challenges: the chaos of packaging the meals and the mess the clamshell package created. Andrew reduced the supper staff from a team of five to two. As time permits during lunchtime, a staff member will plate the day's supper meals in an Oliver two-or three-compartment tray, quickly seal the tray using Oliver's compact CX Model 1308 sealing machine and place the sealed meals on racks to be moved to refrigeration. When it's close to supper serving time, staff will retherm the meals so they are hot and ready for students to grab and go. The advantages of a sealed meal, packaged as time permits, the chaos and mess have all been resolved and required labor reduced.
“Moving to Oliver's Speedseal Packaging System has reduced the time to package meals, the amount of staff used and created a more controlled process. The chaos is gone,” Andrew shared.