meal production

- The transformation of prepared ingredients into ready-to-eat meals, including kitchen operations, cooking, serving, and cleanup. ### Collective Efficiency Assumptions | Metric | Individual (1 person) | Family (4 people) | Community (1000 people) | | ------------------------------------ | --------------------- | ------------------------- | ------------------------ | | Meal Prep Labor Time | 45 mins/meal | 60 mins/meal | 2.5 mins/person/meal | | Kitchen Cleanup Time | 15 mins/meal | 20 mins/meal | .5 min/person/meal | | Equipment Cost Per Year* | $200 | $625 | $7,140 | | Kitchen Space | 120 sqft | 200 sqft | 10,000 sqft | | Food Prep Waste | 15% | 12% | 3% | | Leftover/Spoilage Waste | 20% | 15% | 5% | | Equipment Utilization (active hours) | 2 hrs/day | 3 hrs/day | 16 hrs/day | | **TOTALS FOR 1000 PEOPLE:** | | | | | Total Equipment Cost ^1 | $200,000 | $156,250 (22% saved) | $7,140 (96% saved) | | Total Storage Needed | 120,000 sqft | 50,000 sqft (58% saved) | 10,000 sqft (92% saved) | | Monthly Food Waste (Portions) | 35,000 | 25,000 (29% saved) | 8,000 (77% saved) | | Per Meal Cost ^2 | $7.84 + 60 min | $6.35 + 20 min (19%, 67%) | $4.22 + 5 min (46%, 92%) | #### Equipment Cost | Scale | Base Cost | Hours/Day Use | Expected Lifespan | Community-Adjusted Lifespan | Amortized Yearly Cost | Notes | | ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------ | ----------------- | --------------------------- | --------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Individual ($2,000) | • Basic range ($500) • Refrigerator ($800) • Small appliances ($400) • Cookware/utensils ($300) | 2 hrs active 24 hrs fridge | 10 years | N/A | $200/year | • Residential wear patterns • Frequent idle time allows recovery • Over-specced for actual usage • Often replaced before EOL due to aesthetics | | Family ($5,000) | • Higher-end range ($1,200) • Larger refrigerator ($1,500) • More appliances ($1,300) • Extended cookware set ($1,000) | 3 hrs active 24 hrs fridge | 8-10 years | N/A | $625/year | • Moderate duty cycles • Some redundancy in equipment • Mixed usage patterns • Weekend intensive use spikes | | Community ($50,000) | • Commercial ranges ($15,000) • Walk-in refrigeration ($12,000) • Industrial appliances ($13,000) • Professional cookware ($10,000) | 16 hrs active 24 hrs fridge | 15 years | 5-7 years | $7,140/year | • Professional maintenance required • Designed for constant use • Modular parts replacement • Higher repair vs replace ratio • Energy efficiency at scale | #### Per Meal Per Person Cost | Individual | Family | Community | | -------------- | -------------- | ------------------------------- | | $7.84 + 60 min | $6.35 + 20 min | ( $.47 + `food costs` ) + 3 min | ##### Labor Time (Hours per meal per person) | Labor Component | Individual | Family | Community | Notes | | ------------------- | ---------- | ------ | --------- | -------------------------------- | | Prep Time | 45 | 15 | 2.5 | 45min/1, 60min/4, ~42 hours/1000 | | Cleanup Time | 15 | 5 | .5 | 15min/1, 20min/4, ~8 hours/1000 | | **Total Mins/Meal** | 60 | 20 | 3 | | ##### Direct Costs ($ per meal per person) | Cost Component | Individual | Family | Community | Notes | | ---------------------------- | ---------- | ------ | --------- | ---------------------------------------------------- | | Equipment Amortization | $0.18 | $0.11 | $0.01 | Equipment Cost Per Year / 365 days / 3 meals | | Space Cost | $0.16 | $0.07 | $0.014 | (kitchen space * $15/sqft/year) / 365 days / 3 meals | | Base Food Cost | $5.00 | $4.50 | $3.75 | ~25% savings at community scale | | Prep Waste Cost | $0.75 | $0.54 | $0.11 | 15%, 12%, 3% of base food | | Spoilage Cost | $1.00 | $0.68 | $0.19 | 20%, 15%, 5% of base food | | Energy/Water | $0.75 | $0.45 | $0.15 | Efficiency gains at scale | | **Total Cost/Meal** | $7.84 | $6.35 | $4.22 | | | **Total Non-Food Cost/Meal** | $2.84 | $1.85 | $.47 | | #### Scaling Benefits - Professional Equipment Access - What would be prohibitively expensive for an individual household becomes cost-effective when serving 1000 people (commercial dishwashers, laundry systems, etc.) - Expertise Development - Workers can develop deep skill in specific tasks rather than being generalists at everything - Mental Load Reduction: Specializing tasks and delegating responsibilities reduces context switching and cognitive strain, allowing for more relaxed and focused work. - Process Optimization - At scale, small efficiency improvements have huge impacts, justifying time spent on optimization e.g. assembly line - Quality Control - Standardized processes and professional communal oversight lead to consistently higher quality - increasing everyone's proficiency - Resource Efficiency - Bulk purchasing, better equipment utilization, and reduced waste all contribute to lower costs #### Arguments for Numbers - prep waste - individual: higher due to small quantities, more trimming waste - family: slightly better with larger portions - community: minimal with professional techniques, bulk processing - leftover/spoilage: - individual: high due to buying more than needed, poor storage - family: better with shared meals but still significant - community: low with inventory management, immediate use