Resilience in the Face of Adversity: Mealbox Omaha's Commitment to Sustainable Food Delivery

In the heart of Omaha, a small kitchen in Benson has been serving up scratch-made meals to the local community, but this week, the deliveries have come to a halt. Mealbox Omaha, a thriving food delivery service, has faced a significant setback after a powerful storm knocked out power for days, causing them to lose around ,000 worth of food. As the business owners, Will and Rachel Birge, grapple with the aftermath, they are determined to find a way to bounce back and continue their passion for providing fresh, sustainable meals to their customers.

Weathering the Storm: Mealbox Omaha's Resilience in the Face of Adversity

A Devastating Loss

Mealbox Omaha, a local food delivery service, has been a beacon of hope for the Omaha community, providing around 1,500 to 2,000 scratch-made meals each week. However, this week, the small kitchen in Benson has been silent, as the business has faced a significant setback. After a powerful storm swept through the area, the kitchen lost power for several days, resulting in the loss of around ,000 worth of food. The food, which included fermented and seasonal items that take time to prepare, now sits rotting outside the kitchen, while the staff grapples with the heartbreaking task of tossing the remaining items inside.

A Passionate Commitment to Sustainability

Will Birge, the cook at Mealbox Omaha, is devastated by the loss of the food. "I don't want to waste food," he says, "I don't want to throw it in the garbage. It's heartbreaking. There's so many starving people out there." The company prides itself on being a zero-waste kitchen, taking meal orders and preparing them accordingly. The thought of tossing all of that hard work and effort is a bitter pill for the passionate staff to swallow.

Lessons Learned and Adaptations for the Future

Reflecting on the situation, Will Birge acknowledges that he could have been better prepared. "I probably could've been ready with a generator or something like that," he says, "But I never in my wildest dreams thought I would need one. So, lesson learned." The Birges, who are both business partners and spouses, are now hoping that their insurance will cover most of the loss, but they know that it will still be a significant hit to their company, which opened in 2018.

Rallying the Community for Support

Despite the setback, the Birges are determined to bounce back. Rachel Birge, Will's business partner and wife, says that customers are already stepping up to help by purchasing gift cards. "There's no other option," says Will, "We have to be OK. This is our family business and it's our passion and we love doing it and we're going to have to figure out how to make it work regardless."

Advocating for Infrastructure Improvements

As the Birges work to recover from this loss, they are also looking to the future and advocating for infrastructure improvements that could help prevent similar situations in the years to come. Will Birge hopes that the Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) will consider burying power lines to make the system more resilient to storms. "Maybe it's time to really figure out, is there a better way to do this?" he says, pointing to the fact that in Bennington, where power lines are already underground, they only lost power for 15 minutes during the recent storm.While OPPD has acknowledged that they are looking into burying the lines, they have also stated that it is likely not feasible to bury everything that is not already underground. Nevertheless, the Birges remain hopeful that a solution can be found to ensure that their business, and others like it, can continue to thrive in the face of unpredictable weather events.