Prep & Serve - Kickstarter Campaign for New Storage Option

Crafters and cooks have a lot of different little supplies that are hard to keep organized, but the new Prep & Serve storage system changes that. Prep & Serve is a modular system that puts a variety of containers with individual lids all under one box.  Having everything in one container means you have all your supplies in one easy place and it’s easy to transport. Made in America, Prep & Serve is running a Kickstarter campaign to bring this innovative new storage system to the masses. I had a chance to interview the creator to learn more.

What was the inspiration behind Prep& Serve?
Waiting in line at Subway with my family of five, I watched as the kid at the counter struggled to keep up and bounce back and forth from the sandwich making to the register. I thought to myself, “this is healthy, I have all these ingredients at home - why do we never make this?” Days later when trying to recreate the sub sandwiches, I realized how many different things are in different areas, jars, packages & drawers. By the time everything was out on the counter, a mess had ensued and was much more time consuming than expected. So I set about to design a better way - to eat healthy, eat more veggies, take food, plan ahead, and have something ready so the kids could make food without making a mess.

Prep & Serve was created by a mom, party planner, designer, volunteer, fundraiser, hockey mom, working mom, cake baker, grocery shopper and fridge cleaner. I was all those things at some point in time and as a mom, you likely wear many of the same hats. I mention all those, as I feel they all weighed in on my process of how much better our meal prep/food storage systems could be. So frustrated with the inability to take multiple items in a convenient way, I mentioned to a fellow volunteer at a food fundraiser my dilemma and he said, “great idea, why don’t you invent that?” Little did I know the journey that would begin. As the process went along, and asking many friends and focus groups, what do you dislike about your food storage?, I realized this could be more useful than just a prep station. A real system that would be useful again and again - and with a standard size, easy to store too.

What sets this system apart from other storage systems?

Prep & Serve is a modular food storage and prep box where all the individual containers fit in AND SEAL ALL under one lid. Each inner container can be used on its own, but it "SNAPS" in place in the 9 x 13" prep box. Think of it as Subway in a box! I have not found ANY OTHER SYSTEM where multiple items seal under one lid. There are now various containers on the market that hold a couple things, but each has a separate lid, or they do not seal, or they are only ONE configuration. The video shows how these work together. The sealing lid allows for food to be stored without cross contamination, as unlike items can be in one box, but the design of an inner lid allows for anything with a stronger odor or messy ingredients to have their own lid - double protection. The system works well for portion control, as they are measurement marked, and you have endless variety and ability to personalize the set - configure what works best for you. Not worrying about portions, but want to be able to pull a meal together fast? This is perfect for mom to leave ready in the fridge so kids can make their own meals, and way less mess! They can pull out one container and bread, tortillas or ramen and turn it into a real healthy meal! If you are one who makes baby food, it is a great way to store many different kinds in one box, along with biscuits and small spoons, etc. You can have various wet and dry ingredients in the one container, and they will stay that way.

Prep & Serve could be to container storage what the USB is to the computer. No matter what material, using a constant grid pattern they can fit together. The outer box & lid is safe, elegant and permanent. The inner containers are protected by this, so a lighter BPA free, microwave safe plastic. Because this is under a "grid pattern" lid, you can vary the sizes of the containers, but they are designed to nest when stored and take up less space in your cupboard. Any inner lids would be translucent, however, a stretch goal would be each a color to immediately identify the size - 1/2 pint, pint or quart - which makes them easy to find. Those sizes are the current volume of any U.S. deli containers.

What tips can you share for organizing crafting supplies?

This is perfect for crafting if you have many smaller parts, and again, unlike items. With scrapbooking, there are all the little trinkets and textural additions, but you can also hold small papers and tools in the same box. I’ve done cake decorating, this has been used as a cake decorating box for cake pops and my daughter’s architectural Lego set.