How do I order takeout in an Island Eats Bowl?
When you’re craving something delicious from one of our restaurant partners, just order your takeout online, by phone, or in-person just like normal. The only difference? Make sure to indicate that you’d like your takeout order in an Island Eats bowl. When ordering online, please make sure to either check the “Island Eats” box or indicate this in the “additional notes” section or your order.
When you pick up your order make sure to use the USEFULL™ app to scan the bowl’s unique QR code to check it out.
How and where do I return the bowls?
You can return your bowls at any of our 12 participating restaurants. Using the USEFULL™ app, scan the bowl’s unique QR code and then scan the restaurant’s QR code (usually located near to the Island Eats return hamper) and place your rinsed bowl and lid gently in the hamper or return to a staff member.
How much does it cost to join?
We offer both free and paid access to Island Eats’ thousands of reusable and returnable bowls. Our free membership entitles you to borrow unlimited number of bowls with a 24-hour return window. We also offer 1-month, summer, and annual paid memberships that entitle you to borrow an unlimited number of bowls with a 7 day return window.
Our memberships are priced to give the greatest number of people the opportunity to embrace reuse while make sure we can run a sustainable reuse system:
Free
1-month membership $19.95
Summer membership $74.96 (valid Memorial Day through Labor Day)
Annual membership $7.95 per month
How many bowls can I borrow at a time?
Great news! Each membership now gives you access to as many bowls as you’d like!
When do I need to return the bowls?
Paid members have 7 days to return the bowl(s) to any participating restaurant. If you’re using our free membership, you have 24 hours to return the bowl(s) to any participating restaurant.
At the end of your borrowing period, you will be charged a $1 per day late fee for each unreturned bowl.
What happens if I lose a bowl?
In order to ensure we can continue to run a financially sustainable reuse system, we charge a replacement fee for any bowls not returned 14 days after the end of the borrowing period. If you are on a paid membership, this means that at the end of your 7-day borrowing period, if you have not returned the bowl you will be charged $1 per day for 14 days and on the 15th day you will be charged a replacement fee of $12.
Do I have to wash the bowls?
As a courtesy to our restaurant partners we ask that you please rinse the bowl and lid before returning them. If you are eating in at the restaurant, please use a paper napkin to wipe out the bowl before returning it. Multiple times per week we’ll swing by and pick up the rinsed containers from our restaurant partners and take them to be commercially washed and sanitized.
How do you ensure the bowls are safe and clean?
Island Eats reusable bowls are professionally washed and sanitized in a commercial dishwasher in a commercial kitchen. The bowls are washed, dried and transported according to local, state, and federal food safety and sanitization standards and our standard operating procedure has been reviewed and approved by the Edgartown Board of Health.
I’m a restaurant and I’m interested. How do I reach you?
We love our restaurant partners and are always happy to have an intro exploratory conversation with cafes, restaurants, and other food service organizations on the island. Let’s chat!
How do I get in touch with you?
We love hearing from you! Feel free to send us a love note, a question, or any concern to hello@islandeatsmv.com. Email’s always on, so you can expect a pretty speedy response :)
This is so cool, how can I support Island Eats?
We have two major needs:
(1) we have lots of restaurants waiting to join Island Eats but need to increase the number of people choosing to use our bowls. So please help us spread the word; tell your family and friends. The more folks we sign up, the quicker we can expand the system. And the greater impact we have!
(2) We are currently fundraising to introduce reusable cups for hot and iced coffee and tea as well as juice and smoothies. If you know of a grant opportunity or a donor who may be interested in supporting our work, please email me or donate directly to Island Eats via our charitable partner, Vineyard Conservation Society.
Who’s behind this?
Jessica Mason, a Chilmark resident and nonprofit leader with a passion for economic justice and sustainability. Learn more about Jessica and the Island Eats origin story.