{"id":162280,"date":"2025-04-28T07:29:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T05:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=162280"},"modified":"2025-04-22T16:49:09","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T14:49:09","slug":"eco-products-and-dno-produce-help-bring-environmental-sustainability-to-k-12-school-cafeterias","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/eco-products-and-dno-produce-help-bring-environmental-sustainability-to-k-12-school-cafeterias\/","title":{"rendered":"Eco-Products and DNO Produce Help Bring Environmental Sustainability to K-12 School Cafeterias"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/mma.prnewswire.com\/media\/2664546\/DNO_Release.jpg?w=400\" alt=\"Eco-Products and DNO Produce have teamed up to create a new compostable cup and lid offering for K-12 school nutrition programs. The unique product combination features a 4-ounce molded fiber cup made with renewable resources, which is sealed with plant-based lidding film once food has been placed inside.\u202fSchools are finding an increasing need for individually packaged, pre-portioned food. DNO's prepared produce spares schools from having to sort, wash, pre-cut and portion their offerings.\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.4981273408239701;width:311px;height:auto\" title=\"Eco-Products and DNO Produce have teamed up to create a new compostable cup and lid offering for K-12 school nutrition programs. The unique product combination features a 4-ounce molded fiber cup made with renewable resources, which is sealed with plant-based lidding film once food has been placed inside.\u202fSchools are finding an increasing need for individually packaged, pre-portioned food. DNO's prepared produce spares schools from having to sort, wash, pre-cut and portion their offerings.\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Eco-Products and DNO Produce have teamed up to create a new compostable cup and lid offering for K-12 school nutrition programs. The unique product combination features a 4-ounce molded fiber cup made with renewable resources, which is sealed with plant-based lidding film once food has been placed inside.\u202fSchools are finding an increasing need for individually packaged, pre-portioned food. DNO&#8217;s prepared produce spares schools from having to sort, wash, pre-cut and portion their offerings. \u00a9 Eco-Products<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecoproductseurope.com\/\">Eco-Products<sup>\u00ae<\/sup>&nbsp;<\/a>and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dnoinc.com\/\">DNO Produce<sup>\u00ae<\/sup>&nbsp;(DNO)<\/a> have unveiled a new compostable cup and lid offering specifically designed for K-12 school nutrition programs. The unique product combination features a 4-ounce molded fiber cup made with renewable resources, which is sealed with plant-based lidding film once food, typically cut fruit or vegetables, has been placed inside.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>DNO Produce is a&nbsp;Columbus, Ohio-based distributor of fresh-cut and bulk produce, servicing school nutrition programs in 17 states. DNO equips thousands of K-12 students with fresh fruits and vegetables daily and is working with Eco-Products to meet their goal of increasing their use of packaging made with renewable resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Due to staffing challenges many school districts continue to face, there is an increasing need for individually packaged, pre-portioned food. DNO&#8217;s prepared produce spares schools from having to sort, wash, pre-cut and portion their offerings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;Our transition to more sustainable packaging is the culmination of a multi-year effort to align our operations with our sustainability goals,&#8221; said&nbsp;<strong>Alex DiNovo, DNO&#8217;s President.<\/strong> &#8220;During the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for individually packaged produce surged, and we saw an opportunity to make some changes. Eco-Products has been an incredible partner, and we couldn&#8217;t be prouder to be part of this revolutionary product.&#8221;\u202f\u202f&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;It is fantastic to see this new cup and lid solution making its way to schools across DNO&#8217;s footprint,&#8221; said&nbsp;<strong>Wendell Simonson, Director of Marketing at Eco-Products.<\/strong> &#8220;Projects like this only happen when both sides are truly committed to a new way of doing things, and that&#8217;s exactly what is on display here.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The molded fiber cup is BPI-Certified compostable, and the plant-based lidding film meets ASTM Standards for compostability. For more about lidding film options from Eco-Products, visit&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=4405265-1&amp;h=1921203020&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fecoproducts.com%2Fcompostable-lidding-film&amp;a=ww.ecoproducts.com%2Fcompostable-lidding-film\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">ww.ecoproducts.com\/compostable-lidding-film<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:16px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About DNO Produce<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>DNO Produce is a family-owned business based in&nbsp;Columbus, Ohio, dedicated to transforming how children consume fresh produce in the classroom, the cafeteria, and their communities. Founded in 1989, DNO Produce (DNO) has grown to provide fresh, healthy, ready-to-eat fruits and vegetables across seventeen states, employing over 220 people. DNO&#8217;s FRESHEALTH product line offers individually packaged produce tailored for school nutrition programs, food&nbsp;service operations, retail grab-n-go, and meal kits, featuring innovative items like crinkle-cut cucumbers, watermelon radish coins, jicama sticks, and golden kiwi to make eating fruits and vegetables fun and accessible for kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About Eco-Products, PBC\u202f\u202f\u202f&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"311\" src=\"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2025\/04\/Eco_Products_logo.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-162294\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.2861736334405145;width:132px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2025\/04\/Eco_Products_logo.jpg 400w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2025\/04\/Eco_Products_logo-300x233.jpg 300w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2025\/04\/Eco_Products_logo-150x117.jpg 150w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2025\/04\/Eco_Products_logo-347x270.jpg 347w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Eco-Products<sup>\u00ae<\/sup>, a Novolex<sup>\u00ae<\/sup>\u202fbrand and certified B Corp, is a leading provider of foodservice packaging made from renewable, recycled, and reusable materials.\u202fEco-Products offers packaging with real environmental benefits, works with customers to improve composting and recycling, and collaborates with the broader industry to shift how businesses and consumers think about and manage waste. Visit&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=4405265-1&amp;h=975333513&amp;u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ecoproducts.com%2F&amp;a=www.ecoproducts.com\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">www.ecoproducts.com<\/a>&nbsp;for more information.\u202f\u202f<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Eco-Products\u00ae&nbsp;and DNO Produce\u00ae&nbsp;(DNO) have unveiled a new compostable cup and lid offering specifically designed for K-12 school nutrition programs. The unique product combination features a 4-ounce molded fiber cup made with renewable resources, which is sealed with plant-based lidding film once food, typically cut fruit or vegetables, has been placed inside. DNO Produce is a&nbsp;Columbus, [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":162295,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","nova_meta_subtitle":"The new packaging features molded fiber bases and plant-based lidding film","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572],"tags":[5838,12239,16003,26200,7105,5528],"supplier":[26199,9969],"class_list":["post-162280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bio-based","tag-bioeconomy","tag-compostability","tag-cups","tag-fibercups","tag-packaging","tag-sustainability","supplier-dno-produce","supplier-eco-products"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162280\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162280"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=162280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}