Reusable food containers are on the menu at two Curry Student Center restaurants
Take out doesn’t have to come with single-use dishes. Two vendors at Curry Student Center offer reusable containers.
Environmentally friendly food containers joined the menu at two restaurants at Curry Student Center in Boston this winter.
As of early January, Choolaah Indian BBQ and Kigo Kitchen made reusable containers supplied by a company called Re:Dish available to customers, students, staff and faculty alike.
The goal of the reusable dish pilot project is to lower single-use waste and help meet the objectives of a Reduce, Reuse, ReNU pledge signed by hundreds of Northeastern students, said Megan Curtis-Murphy, director of campus sustainability and engagement.
“It really helps us to progress toward our goals around waste reduction,” she said.
Re:Dish picks up used containers from two specially designated bins at Curry Student Center to be washed and sterilized off-site before being returned to use, said Gianina Padula, campus sustainability manager for Northeastern Dining.
The reusable containers help take the guilt out of single-use takeout dishes, said second-year student Sophia St. Clair, a Business Services co-op who demonstrated how the reusable system works during the noon lunch break at Curry.
“They can still grab and go, but they can be sustainable about that. Students have been very positive about it,” she said. St. Clair said it helps that the system is easy to use — no apps needed — and free of charge.
The first step in the process is for service teams at Choolaah and Kigo to ask customers what form of payment they are using, Padula said. She said customers using cards are automatically assigned a reusable container linked to their card by a QR code at the bottom of the container.
Executive Chef at Northeastern’s Curry Student Center, serves up a Kigo Kitchen meal in a new pilot reusable container on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University
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People paying with cash or a Husky Card are given the option of a disposable or reusable container, Padula said. If they opt for a reusable one, they too can tap their card to link their container.
In either case, first-time customers are asked to give their phone number, which Re:Dish uses to text them about the return date of the dish as well as information about how they’ve helped to reduce single-use waste.
Customers are allowed to keep the container for seven days, after which they are charged a $6 late fee, Padula said.
“So far, we’ve been seeing a great return rate,” Padula said. She said the containers are made of BPA-free plastic and are microwave and refrigerator-safe, but not suitable for the freezer.
For now, the reusable food container is a pilot project, but it could expand in the future, said Katie Aramento, campus senior director of marketing for Northeastern Dining.
To add to the sustainability feature, a composting bin for leftover food is located next to each Re:Dish return receptacle, into which students are encouraged to put their food scraps, Padula said.
“It’s very convenient for the students,” she said.
