Building a Sustainable Food Future For New York City

emma you and i have talked a lot about this frozen food does not get the respect it deserves and i really feel like frozen is the new fresh i think it's

the

coolest it makes vegetables more convenient more affordable it reduces waste what are we missing when we talk about frozen food that so that why does it still have a bad rep i think is what i'm trying to ask

Well, first of all, for anyone that doesn't know who Strong Roots are, we are a frozen brand that was born in Ireland with the sole purpose of getting more veg onto more plates.

So we source the best vegetables from around the world, we create innovative and clean products while doing as little as possible to them, always championing taste, and we are famous for things like the cauliflower brown, which you've just tried.

Frozen is probably the best topic to talk about when we look at how we try and take our climate footprint forward.

It solves waste.

It gives more access to fruit and vegetables.

We've talked about food deserts today.

We've talked about food insecurity.

The best access to fruit and veg is often through the freezer because it has no wastage and also it means you can get it to places you couldn't normally.

So we think it has a huge role in the food system.

I think the reason that people still have a bit of stigma around it is because I don't think brands are doing enough en masse to get really creative.

So we had an amazing conversation in London about the Gen Z Seiju gap.

So this is all about do they really care about the planet do they not yeah they really really do care they really do care but they're not willing to compromise and what i mean by that is what they now want is they want delicious food that's good for the planet but it's also on the right mission so brands have got to get more creative and things like the cauliflower hash brown so i have two kids the best way to make meat vegetables ranch Or put it in a hash brown.

That's kind of how we want to be creative.

So I think frozen is the answer to so many things.

But brands have got to do a better job of making it exciting for people.

I say I think the culinary community is a little responsible for that too.

There's a little bit of...

I don't really know the other word to use around fresh and frozen.

You know, not everybody has access to the most beautiful fresh peach off a tree in the season.

And we really have to think of access and privilege and think frozen can serve so many more people and they are getting much fresher produce in the process.

Right, and more

delicious, right? Yeah, exactly.