There were changes in every area of life in 2020 that were brought about from the Covid Pandemic. Daily routines are now very different than they were just one year ago. But the amount of change varies from person to person and industry to industry. For some, the greatest change is the inconvenience of wearing a mask when you go shopping and a reduction in evenings at restaurants. But in corrections, particularly at meals, there have been some very significant adjustments. For facilities that were already serving in cell or to pods, modifications were made to the process and potentially the equipment used, but these aren’t as great as they are for any facility that had a chow hall and served on cafeteria style trays.
Many of our customers had to change from having inmates come to the food to delivering meals to inmates – and that is an enormous shift in process. I think Cook’s sold more disposable styrofoam to-go containers this year than we have in the last five. That is, if we were able to get them in the quantity that our customers required. We also quoted many, many longtime customers products like Rhino Carts, Marathon Trays, Gator Trays and many more items related to meal delivery, when in the past, they only purchased Correctional Six Compartment Trays, copolymer flatware and correctional tumblers, not to mention more people requiring beverage servers, Vented Tray Drying Racks, and other related products.
While these changes were significant, there’s one more change that has happened that led us to one of our newest products for 2021; the MyGo Reusable To Go Container™. The MyGo is ideal for use anywhere that styrofoam or paper disposable carry out containers are used. Unlike other reusable containers, the 100% BPA Free MyGo has an exclusive gasket design that provides a tight seal all around the lid and between the interior compartments. MyGo Containers™ can be used for inmate feeding as well as providing officers and staff new options for meal containers.
These containers are very much like a three compartment styrofoam carry-out container, except much better. First, they have a lid that seals tightly with three snap-tight tabs. You don’t have to worry about the top coming undone during transport. Also, the lid of these reusable to-go containers has a gasket, which seals the perimeter as well as the interior compartment. This also keeps the containers from leaking, even if they are turned sideways or upside down shortly.
These containers are also great for use with delivery of special diets or seg meals. The standard orange color is very bright and easy to see, as well as translucent so that you can easily view the contents of the container. This is to reduce the possibility of any contraband being placed inside with the meal. There are five additional colors available, including a purple MyGo Container™ that is ideal for food allergies.
Currently, Cook’s Correctional is offering a 3-compartment container which is 9-3/8” x 9-3/8” x 2-1/2”D. There are additional sizes of MyGo Containers™ that will be available in May of 2021. MyGo Containers™ are exclusive to Cook’s and we are really excited about all the different applications we think these reusable to-go contains will be a perfect fit. You can learn more about these by reviewing our MyGo Reusable Containers™ specification sheet. You can also request a sample MyGo by calling 1.800.956.5571 or sending an email to our customer service team.
