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Frequently Asked Questions

I live outside of the US, Where can I get your food?

Fernweh Food Company is a small but mighty company. We want to make sure we grow within our means, so we are starting just in the US. We are hoping to be able to provide tasty meals outside of the US in the future. Please follow us on social media (Instagram or Facebook) or sign up for our newsletter for updates. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we grow this startup into something BIG! Depending on where you live you may be able to buy our products from Garage Grown Gear and have them shipped to you, please check their site to see if they ship to your location.

I’m In Portland, How do I get my hands on your food without paying for shipping?

We have brought back our PDX Local Pickup. At checkout under shipping options if you have a PDX zip code you will be able to select our Tuesday Local Pickup option for $1. Pickup is ONLY available on Tuesday from 5:30pm-7pm at at 1813 NE 2nd Ave (we are located in the old Reverend Nat’s building). Pickups are not available outside of this window, so only select this option if that timeframe works for you. You may send a friend/partner to pick up your order for you, just send them your order number.

We also sell our meals at several Portland retailers. Please see our list of partners below, you may want to reach out to them to make sure they have the meal you are looking for in stock.

are your meals available in any stores?

Yes! You can find us at the following shops and online retailers.

how long does your food stay fresh In the Compostable bags?

We have chosen to package our meals in TekPak’s Omnidegradable bags. Because these bags are made to break down into organic biomass and CO2, as soon as we put food into them, they begin their process of biodegrading. For that reason, we date all our packaged meals for 9 months out from the day they were packaged. The food itself is good for much longer — as of 9/2/21 our real-time shelf life testing has shown that our meals are good for 2 years and 2 months without being in any packaging and sitting out on our shelf in the kitchen.

If you do not get around to enjoying your Fernweh Food Company meal by the date on the package, you can transfer it to an airtight jar, bag or other container and store it in a cool dry place or your freezer and enjoy it for another 15+ months by cooking it in a different container or your cooking pot. If you choose to cook in the compostable bag after the stamped date, just be careful when stirring and putting hot water into it, as it has already begun to compost itself and is not stable for high heat or wear and tear at this point.

How do I cook your Meals out of the compostable packaging?

Great question with a few good answers. We recommend any of the following:

  1. We have been using a reusable silicone bag to pour our meals into and then add the hot water. We have one for sweet and one for savory meals. They can take the heat and "camp clean" up easy. We really like the Buc Bag by CNOC Outdoors.

  2. Cook in your pot. Yes, this makes an extra dish, but it is a lighter option than carrying the silicone bags.

  3. Use a freezer grade zip top plastic bag (please bring home to wash and reuse!). These loose heat and may increase cooking time, but they are an easy and cheap alternative.

  4. Save, wash, and reuse the heating pouches from other adventure meal brands! This is a great way to reduce waste too!

If you have a pot koozie or something to insulate your container, this will help to speed up the rehydration time and will ensure your meals is nice and hot when it’s time to dig in.
 

What’s in your food?

We are proud to offer only plant-based (aka vegan) meals. We produce our meals in a Gluten Free kitchen. We use tree nuts and soy in some of our recipes. Dairy is used in our shared kitchen space, but we thoroughly clean all equipment before and after use, as do our kitchen-mates.

We use local and organic produce whenever possible. As we grow we will have more options available to us and hope to one day be 100% local and organic.

We are growing our list of local farms we partner with. If you are a local farmer or just have an overabundance of local grown organic produce, please reach out to us as we would love to work with you!

How does the bulk ordering work? How much Do I need?

We are excited to now offer our Southwest Stew and Mushroom Pot Pie in Bulk, 100% home compostable packaging. If you would like to buy our other meals or snacks in bulk, we require that you purchase 5 portions/ servings of each and we will offer you a 10% discount. These items will be packaged in our large reusable bags. They will need to be stored in an airtight container upon receiving them to ensure shelf stability. See information above on tips for storing our meals and snacks in the reusable containers. We do ask for at least 2 week lead time to fulfill bulk orders. To order in bulk, please reach out to us on our contact page.

How do I properly dispose of my compostable mailer and pouches?

First, THANK YOU for being an ethical consumer. We know there is no perfect way to package product, but we feel pretty good about our Omnidegradable pouch compared to other options out there right now. Here are the best ways to dispose of your pouches:

  1. You can toss the pouch directly into your home compost pile — it will breakdown over time.

  2. If your city provides composting service, you can put this directly into the bin.

  3. If you’re unsure if you have composting service in your area, click here to see who may be your closest compost service.

  4. If compost service is not accessible, consider writing to your local government and request this service. The US Composting Council has put together some sample letters with appropriate language to use when reaching out.

  5. Now may be the perfect time to start your own home compost pile! We think this beginners guide from thekitchn.com is a great place to start.

I love your logo, please tell me more about it!

As we were dreaming up our logo, we were lucky to work with the super talented, Mary Lytle. They helped us work through our vision and come up with a logo that we are more than thrilled about. Check out more of their work and find out how they can help you define your brand vision here!

Did we miss something?

If you can’t find the answers you are looking for here, please send us a message on our contact page and we will be in touch shortly!