Why Plates?
...because of Reza!
"When I first arrived in the US forty years ago with no access to authentic food from my homeland, the only way to connect to my native food was dialing. Yes, dialing. I would spend 4-5 hours just to connect via a landline to my Mom’s voice...if she managed to be home.
At the rate of $60 dollars for 3 minutes, filled with echoes due to satellite delays, getting a recipe - a small piece of home - was a treasure hunt but, well worth the effort!
I came to the US in August 1979 as a young man to attend university. It was a surreal time. Revolution had just broken out in my own country and having grown up in secure upper-middle-class life, the thought of an actual revolution was absurd.
Fast forward...It was August 2017 and my son Victor was heading back to university in Michigan.
Given all the stuff he needed to take back, I suggested we drive from our home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It would be a great bonding opportunity with over 13 hours travel each way through Canada!
On the road home, with not enough appetizing food options on the way and a lot of time alone to think, Plates was born.
Plates is a global platform for local food artisans and food lovers. If you love to cook, if you care what you consume, if you treat food as a medicine for your body, Plates is for you." -Reza
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To read Reza's full story, check out the blog post here.
Our Mission
Plates is a platform designed to: give access to healthy food, reduce food waste, alleviate food insecurity, and create a stronger community fabric.
For the Community
We’re making it possible to access freshly made food in your neighborhood. Plates brings local communities together by connecting people through a shared love of food.
A thriving neighborhood is a healthy and socially connected one.
For the Humanity
There are over 800 million people in our world that lack access to an adequate food supply, with 40 million U.S. residents struggling with food insecurity.
Our aim is to establish a platform that enables local empowerment.
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Fostering communal food sharing has the potential to bring people together and address food insecurity, fostering the development of healthier and safer neighborhoods.
For Health
Globally, an estimated $650 billion worth of food is discarded annually, and within the U.S., this amounts to $165 billion.
Mitigating these numbers requires a deliberate approach to both food production and consumption.
Establishing a culture of sharing food within a local economy contributes to sustainability, ultimately diminishing global food waste.
For the Environment
Plates encourage food prepared in smaller batches, moving shorter distances, with less or no packaging, and in a predictable manner.
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By encouraging and incentivizing Consumers to source locally, use reusable containers, travel a shorter distance to get food, and eliminate food waste, we aim to lessen the carbon footprint of our food systems.