Delivering freshly cooked food containing all the goodness of a homestyle meal

With 10 staff and a kitchen that operates 10 hours each day, four days a week, WindMeals currently produces approximately 75,000 meals a year.

WindMeals is part of the not-for-profit DutchCare community organisation and is a leader in aged care with numerous facilities and services throughout Melbourne for retirement living, home care and residential care.

Established in 2010, WindMeals operates its own kitchen in Seaford, which is in addition to the kitchens in DutchCare’s aged-care facilities.

Customers, who can now order online, have more than 40 nutritionally balanced meals to choose from. While customers were originally mostly Dutch, now the customer base is much more multicultural with the menu reflecting this change.

Drivers in refrigerated vans deliver the meals Monday to Friday and will assist customers if they need their meals packed into their freezer.

Challenges

Sue Pyper, WindMeals coordinator, was appointed to establish the business four years ago. A qualified chef, and with a Meals on Wheels background, Sue has taken the start-up to one that is servicing hundreds of customers every week from Moe to Geelong and all points in between.

It wasn’t long after Sue started that she began looking for a system that could automate the packaging of meals and provide efficiencies in the time taken to pack and seal meal trays.

“We were using foil trays with cardboard covers, but I felt these were impersonal as you couldn’t see the food and were not that attractive. Also, there was a perception they couldn’t be microwaved and when customers heated their meals in the oven, this had the potential to pose scalding issues,” Sue said.

“In looking for a change, we tried plastic trays with clip-on lids but these had many drawbacks. We wanted an environmentally friendly solution and one that would have a high return on investment.”

Solution

As an existing supplier, Confoil introduced Sue and WindMeals Food Service Manager Lindon Perry to its range of Oliver paperboard trays and automated sealing machinery. The benchtop sealer can comfortably package 300 meals per day and drastically reduce meal preparation hours.

The Oliver 1308 system comes with film lidding that has a generous overhang on the tray. Even though it is tamper evident, it is very easy to open. The complete meal package can go in the microwave or oven and, because the tray is made of a paperboard construction, which is a natural insulator, it is comfortable to handle straight from the oven.

The trays come in single- or multicavity sizes and can be recycled. They are quality and HACCP accredited.

Customer feedback

Before deciding on the Confoil Pack and Seal system, WindMeals sent out samples to customers and surveyed them to gauge their response.

“Feedback was very positive,” Sue said. “Customers found it very user friendly. They could see the food and found it easy to peel back the film. And because the film is perforated, the steam that escapes is not as much as alternative systems.

“The greatest benefit to customers though is that they can take the meal direct from the freezer and pop it in the microwave or oven and remove it without the danger of burning themselves on the tray. The trays are never brittle and can withstand temperatures of –40 to 210°C.

“The tray is also attractive, so there are lots of positives. I don’t think there has ever been a negative comment on the actual container. Plus, it is recyclable.

Wastage control

Operationally, WindMeals is benefiting from the Confoil system through better control of wastage.

“Because our process is portion controlled and we have set menus, you can monitor your wastage better. It’s a direct benefit because we know how much labour is needed for how long to produce the stock that’s on the menu that week or month.

“We use the dual-compartment tray and dessert tray and seal the soup cups as well with the film lidding.

“If we do happen to have excess product, we can label and distribute it in containers to send to our sites.”

Results

The benefits to WindMeals in using the Confoil system include:

• Faster meal processing, which saves time and money.
• Meals can be stacked on top of each other, which saves space in the freezer and van.
• The equipment is simple to use with just an on/off switch so technical staff or specialised training isn’t required.
• Using the Confoil system allows WindMeals to run the kitchen four days a week, which reduces overheads.
• Customers are delighted with the attractive design and ease of use. The convenience of freezer to oven/microwave means they can eat straight from the tray or decant onto a plate.
• Ordering via the website has grown since it went online last year and, because of the automated sealing system, WindMeals has been able to handle the increased business.
• The reduction in hot steam escaping on peel-back due to the perforated, anti-fog film lidding makes it safer for customers.

Sue Pyper explained how Confoil’s Pack and Seal meal packaging system has provided a simple, cost-effective, attractive and safe solution for WindMeals: “The simplicity of the system really suits our operation. The attractive presentation of the trays and film lidding appeals to us and our customers. Plus, the safety aspect where you can hold the container straight from the oven without scolding yourself is a really big key factor in WindMeals continuing to use this system.”