Switching from Disposable to REusable Meal Trays: Costs, Steps and Planning

Disposable meal trays are easy, but they’re a cost that never ends,
and the price goes up every year. More and more Meals on Wheels and
senior nutrition programs are switching to REusable
trays to cut costs and waste. Here’s what a switch involves and
how to plan it.

What does it save?

REusable trays cost about 4 cents a meal.
Disposables cost 29 to 56 cents a meal (disposable
prices checked October 2026).

Example: a program serving 100 clients a day.

• Meals go out 261 delivery days a year, so 100
  clients use 26,100 disposable trays a year, or 52,200
  over two years.
• With REusables, each client needs only two trays,
  one being delivered and one being returned. That’s about 200 trays, plus
  a few extras (see below).

That leaves well over $12,000 in two years, for
every 100 clients, to put back into meals and services. And these
figures don’t count the hidden costs of disposables: storing inventory,
paying vendors, accounting, shipping and distribution.

Your own savings depend on how many meals you serve and what you pay
for disposables now.

Our Tray Budget
Calculator lets you pick tray and lid types and a budget to
see what you can buy, including shipping to your ZIP code.

How many trays do you need?

Plan on about 2¼ times your daily meal count. This
covers:

• Today’s meals going out
• Yesterday’s trays coming back to be washed
• Extras for growth and for trays that don’t come back

So a program serving 200 meals a day would plan on
about 450 trays and the matching lids. This assumes
drivers pick up the previous day’s trays when they drop off new
meals.

What else you’ll need

• A commercial dishwasher at each site where trays
  are washed. Very small programs may be able to manage without one.
• A separate container on each route (a cardboard box
  works) so used trays stay apart from fresh meals.
• The right detergent. Use low- or non-alkaline
  detergents. Highly alkaline detergents and bleach age the plastic and
  can make it brittle.

How the daily cycle works

1. Meals go out in clean REusable trays.
2. The next day, the driver picks up the previous day’s empty tray when
   delivering the new meal.
3. Trays go back to the kitchen to be washed and sanitized, even if the
   client already rinsed them.
4. Clean trays go back into the rotation.

Train staff, volunteers and
clients

The switch goes smoothly when everyone knows what to expect:

• Staff and drivers: how to collect, store and return
  trays.
• Clients: give written notice about two
  weeks ahead, plus a reminder a few days before the switch.
  Explain that trays need to be ready for pickup the next day.
• Reheating: REusable trays are microwave-safe.
  Clients should reheat only in a microwave, never on a stovetop, in an
  oven or toaster oven, or under a broiler. Frozen meals should be thawed
  first or started on the defrost setting.
• Freezing: never put a hot tray straight onto a
  freezer or glass refrigerator shelf. Cool it in the refrigerator first.
  Sudden temperature changes can crack trays over time.

Our REusable trays and lids

Our Leeds REusable trays
and lids are made in the USA from US materials. They’re solid,
not flimsy, with easy-open lids and no sharp edges. Choose from standard
and deep trays, standard and raised lids, sold in half cases and cases,
plus REusable bowls with lids. Lids can be embossed with your program’s
name (tooling charge and minimum run apply; Leeds standard lids
only).

Ready to see them? Ask us for free
samples, or contact us at 1-800-332-6566 or info@mowstore.com
for a quote for your program.