Meal Delivery Service Experiment

With everything that is going on, I decided to try out some of these meal delivery services that have become so popular. I have to admit I was a little hesitant because several years ago, I tried Sun Basket when they were first starting out, and I was less than impressed. The meals were difficult to prepare and took alot of time. To be fair, they may have changed since then, so it may be worth giving it another try.

I started by making a list of all of the meal delivery services I knew about and their pros, cons, and costs based on a variety of articles, not based on experience. I used this information to decide which ones I wanted to try first. Additional note, while I am showing a cost per serving, most of the services have a weekly minimum.

Service	Description	Prep	Availability	Cost per meal
Gobble	Focused on easy prep and good quality	Easy, ~15 mins	Continental US	$8
Everyplate	Easy to follow, well rounded recipes	Easy, 30-45 mins	most of the Continental US	$6
Green Chef	Focused on eating well no matter what nutritional plan you are on. Certified USDA Organic company that uses high quality, sustainable, clean ingredients	Moderate, ~30 mins	Continental US with limited availability in Louisiana	$10
Fresh and Lean	Fresh and ready made meals that allow you to order as many meals as you want - even if it's just one	Pre-made	Nationwide	$8
Fresh Direct	Limited resource online grocers. Most meals serve 2, some serve 4.	Easy, ~15 mins	NYC, some areas of New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Washington DC	$9-18 plus delivery fees
Snap Kitchen	Highly customizable service. Meals are gluten-free, no artificial preservatives, antibiotics, added hormones, or artificial colorings or flavorings	Pre-made	Continental US	$8-$10
Factor	Focused on easy prep and good quality. Meals are grass-fed, pasture raised, gluten free, antibiotic free, hormone free, soy free, non GMO, and no added sugars.	Pre-made	Continental US	$10-15
Dinnerly	A branch of Marley Spoon. Boasts simplicity with fewer ingredients and less steps than other meal kits	Easy	Nationwide	$5-6 plus $9 shipping
Freshly	Prepared meals delivered in a recyclable, refrigerated box for each meal. Free of artificial ingredients, preservatives and added sugar	Easy	Nationwide	$12
Amazon Fresh Meal	This offering started after Amazon acquired Whole Foods Market. Amazon can send it's meals one a time, or can set a date/time for drop off.	Easy	Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington DC	$8-10, have to be a member of Amazon Prime ($99/year) and Amazon Fresh($15/month)
Home Chef's Fresh and Easy	Fully prepared meals that come in oven safe trays, grill safe bags, and dinner worthy salads	Pre-made	Nationwide	$9
Home Chef	26 chef designed recipes to choose from each week as well as add ons such as smoothies	Moderate, ~30 mins	Available almost everywhere	$10/per meal - discount to healthcare providers and first responders
Sun Basket	Healthy, Sustainable, many diet options	Advanced, ~1 hr	almost everywhere	$19
Blue Apron	Unique, seasonal or hard to find ingredients. Everything is included. Add on programs and wine delivery options	Easy, quick	nationwide	$12.50
HelloFresh	Limited information on their site about their meals unless you pay for a subscription.	Easy, ~15 mins	Continental US	$9 - discount for healthcare workers
Splendid Spoon	Vegetarian meals. High quality, nourishing grain bows, soups, flatbreads and smoothies. GMO and Gluten free.	Pre-made	Continental US	$13 (5 bowls) with discounts based on quantity ordered ($10 for 10 bowls)
Daily Harvest	Healthy and filling pre-made smoothies, soups, and bowls. You can order 9, 12 or 24 items that you can mix and match. There are specific costs for different types of items.	pre-made	Continental US	$7
Martha and Marley Spoon	Started in Europe by Marley Spoon, it partnered with Martha Stewart for the US venture. Focus on meals with sustainable, organic ingredients. Variety of diets supported	Advanced, ~1 hr	Most of the continental US	$18/per meal
Purple Carrot	Vegetarian meal kits	Moderate, ~30 mins	Available almost everywhere	$10/per meal
Hungryroot	Vegetarian meal kits with a questionnaire to help personalize your kit	Easy, ~10 mins	Available almost everywhere	$8-$10/per meal
Sakara Life	Founded by Witney Tingle, yoga instructor, and Danielle DuBois, a holistic health coach. Vegetarian meals.	Pre-made	Available almost everywhere	$28/per meal
Veestro	Vegetarian meals. Order a la carte or chef's choice, or optimized for weight weight loss	Pre-made	Available almost everywhere	$10/per meal
Yumbles	Service catering to families and people cooking for children. Meals are delivered in sustanable packaging and include kid friendly activities.	Pre-made	East Coast, Texas, parts of the West Coast and MidWest	$6-8 per meal based on amount ordered