Introducing Jars: Consumers as force for good 2/3

At Jars we are actively looking for ways to redesign the food system. Or actually food systems. Plural. We want to create modern and responsibile food systems. This post deals with issues that touch the consumer side of our foodstuffs systems.

Over the last century, our food has become ultra-processed and globally sourced. Consumers are disconnected from their food. People want to change their ways but the challenge seems overwhelming. It’s currently hard to see how consumer could act to make things better.

If you want people to change, you need to give them the ability to act. They need to believe in a new way of doing things, but they also need to be able to do things differently.

Jars tries to make this change as easy as possible. Here’s how that might work.

Jars as food packaging system

Glass containers are ideal for packaging foodstuffs. Glass is transparent and does not release odors, colors or flavors. In addition, it can be recycled indefinitely without degradation of the material.

At Jars we supply the jars. Our system is designed to make it easy for you to carry the filled jars home. And it’s easy to bring empty jars back so we can clean them and reuse them.

Near zero waste. Logistical, right?

Local food system

Talking about logistical… there is a very large challenge to connect local farmers to people living in closeby cities. The scale of the farmers doesn’t easily allow for smaller batches of crops to be delivered directly to consumers.

By connecting consumers in communities around the Jars maker kitchens they can buy in larger quantities. That doesn’t yet match the quantities famers currently deal with, but it will become more relevant for farmers once more maker kitchens come online in cities.

By paying farmers a fair share, we can also be transparent about the impact we want to have on the system. One jar could even potentially show the division of profit in the supply chain for the ingredients in that specific jar.

We are actively designing this system with farmers. They too, want be a force for good.

Make-it-yourself food system

Simple items like peanut butter or strawberry jam contain preservatives or other additives. Sauces have been marketed to disguise how simple it is to make them. So much of what we eat is now packaged, preserved, and shipped all over the world that it’s easy to become disconnected with how it was made.

In our maker kitchen we reconnect people with fresh food an how it’s made. Our slogan is Make your food. Change our future. And yes, that’s a great slogan, but it’s also something we strongly believe in.

This is actually a biggie.

When I was a kid I thought gherkins grew on bushes already tasting sweet and sour. I am not exceptional in this. Recently a very highly educated teenager came by the studio and she told me she thought gherkins grow underwater…

There is some room for education. The system will hopefully heal itself when we understand food better.

If we minimally process our food for example, preserving it for ever is not needed, additives like sugar can be reduced significantly. It’s not rocket science, allthough the scale of impact is difficult to overestimate.

And talk about being a force for feeling good: my good friend Dan Ariely has shown together with Michael Norton and Daniel Mochon that there is such a thing as the IKEA effect: someone who sacrifices time and effort to achieve a goal values the achievement more than if it had required very little effort. At Jars you feel more proud of the food you eat, because you have put effort in creating it.

“Wait, what? Is that it!?” People making peanut butter at Jars.

Jars connected food systems

Bear with me. I discussed many systems, I know.

If we connect an ultralocal food production system to a local food distribution system to a near zero waste food packaging system… then consumers would be changing our future.

And what if we make it fun and delicious at the same time? What might happen?

Drop by to experience it yourself or let us know in the comments what you think.

We’re excited to make you part of our journey.

In the Introducing Jars series:

1. Crazy idea
2. Consumers as force for good (this post)
3. Do right by farmers