Anyone Else Use a Meal/Grocery Delivery Service?

[Steve Kroll]

In the past I always enjoyed grocery shopping, but it was mostly because I had a lot of options within easy driving distance. Eight years ago, I moved to a very small town and there is one grocery store here. Selection is somewhat limited, and now that I eat pescatarian I like more fish options than salmon, tilapia, and cod.

I use two services now. For general groceries and meals, I use one called Hungryroot. Pros are the food tends to be organic, fresh, and easy to prepare. Cons are that selection is also limited, although they offer quite a few items that are not available to me locally.

I also started using a fish-based CSA called Sitka Seafood Market. They specialize in wild caught salmon and other species. The quality is excellent, although a bit on the expensive side.

Anyone else have options they like?

 

[taxlady]

I buy a lot of my groceries from Lufa Farms. They have rooftop greenhouses in Montreal. They grow some veggies and herbs. They also partner with local farms and sometimes with farms that are less local, but sustainable and often organic. They also partner with various Canadian seafood suppliers. They deal with a seafood company, Organic Ocean Seafood Inc., run by fishermen. They got tired of not getting paid more for using sustainable fishing practices than the folks who were out there wreaking ecological havoc and using unsustainable fishing methods. There are also partner companies in Quebec and in the Maritime provinces with sustainable fishing and fish farming. So, almost all my seafood arrives frozen. Yes, it's more expensive, but I don't want to go cheap on something like this. I also get lots of local veggies and meat and can get ready made meals.

I haven't found any meal services, of the "Hello Fresh" style that offer meals that I want. They don't tell me where the ingredients come from, how the animals were treated, etc., etc. Also, most ready made meals are made with white pasta or white rice or white flour in some form. I prefer not eat those things as a rule. I like whole grain.

 

[Steve Kroll]

I haven't found any meal services, of the "Hello Fresh" style that offer meals that I want. They don't tell me where the ingredients come from, how the animals were treated, etc., etc. Also, most ready made meals are made with white pasta or white rice or white flour in some form. I prefer not eat those things as a rule. I like whole grain.

I'm with you on that. I usually just buy groceries from the service rather than meals. But I will say that Hungryroot's pastas are mostly made from vegetables or legumes. And I like their brown rice quinoa blend.

 

[Katie H]

No food/grocery services for us since we live about 40 miles into the sticks. I take the hour drive to our market once a week. That's our life, but it's okay. The drive to and from allows me the opportunity to enjoy my audio books.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

I started having my groceries delivered when my car broke down and I couldn't go to the grocery store. I continue to have my groceries delivered rather than go to the grocery for two reasons; it's convenient and there no chance of impulse buys. I have three stores to choose from; Albertsons/Vons, Smart & Final, and Walmart. I usually choose Wally World because of the price and selection. I used to buy from Amazon too, until they put that ridiculous $125.00 minimum you had to spend to get free delivery.

When I got my car back on the road I decided to make a grocery run to Smart & Final to get two things, bread and milk. Because of all the reduced price for quick sale and BOGO items I ended up spending almost 300 bucks American!

 

[caseydog]

I enjoy grocery shopping especially since I have two H-E-B stores within ten miles of me. I've been trying to use up stuff in my freezer, so I haven't been doing much grocery shopping lately. I will grab something I need at Kroger or Walmart about once a week, but I haven't done a serious shopping adventure in a while.

I live in an unusual city. There is a 3,000 acre working cattle and horse ranch a couple of blocks from my house, and yet we have at least a dozen full-size grocery stores within ten miles of me. We have a cattle ranch, and an IKEA, and they are about three miles apart.

CD

 

[Silversage]

I tried several services a few years ago. Our house was on the market, I was working full time, and half my kitchen was packed. It made sense for that time. For the most part, I found them just OK.

Blue Apron was horrible. The recipes were not very good, and everything took twice as long as promised. I'd hate to see how long it would have taken a novice cook.

Martha Stewart had the worst produce, it all looked like it was a week old. Not fresh looking. Each week I had to call them for refunds.

Home Chef was the best of the bunch that I tried, but that isn't saying much. Their recipes were pretty good, I still make a couple of them today. I only had bad produce a couple times (refunded), but a couple times I had missing ingredients. Fortunately, my kitchen is well stocked with various ethnic seasonings and condiments, so I was able to still produce the recipe from my own stock.

I also tried the meal kits from Publix (the local grocery), and they were the worst. Everything was heavy and gluey with cheese and dairy. The produce and proteins were all fresh off their shelves that day, but the recipes were all a zillion calories and very carb heavy.

There were 2 others, but neither of them are still in business. If I were in a similar situation again, I'd try Home Chef.

 

[Jade Emperor]

I was just about to post that I don’t use this kind of service, but then it dawned on me that in fact I do!
I use an online Asian grocer for all my needs, except for the fresh produce. The one I use has the most amazing range of ingredients that you would not find in even the larger brick and mortar stores.
I like the idea of the delivery service mentioned above that has a social conscience component, but I would be reluctant to purchase fish in this way. I would question the freshness, but then I also question freshness at my local fishmonger from time to time. I’m fortunate enough to have the luxury of buying a high quality product whenever I shop for whatever I’m looking for.
I wonder whether a food delivery service would be economically viable for people doing it tough?

 

[Badjak]

No food/grocery services for us since we live about 40 miles into the sticks. I take the hour drive to our market once a week. That's our life, but it's okay. The drive to and from allows me the opportunity to enjoy my audio books.

Close to my situation, except it's 60 miles and I go when needed, which roughly works out every 2-3 weeks

 

[jennyema]

I used Instacart to order groceries for my mother.

I’ve used them a few times myself. They are usually very good

 

[GaryHyslop]

Living in a rural area with limited grocery options, I’ve also turned to delivery services. I’ve tried Wild Alaskan Company for seafood and the quality is excellent, might be worth checking out if you want more variety. For general groceries, Imperfect Foods is another option I’ve used, they have good produce, pantry items and some seafood. It’s not perfect for a pescatarian diet, but it could help supplement what you’re already getting. Sitka Seafood Market sounds fantastic. I’ll have to look into it!

 

[Steve Kroll]

I like the idea of the delivery service mentioned above that has a social conscience component, but I would be reluctant to purchase fish in this way. I would question the freshness, but then I also question freshness at my local fishmonger from time to time.

Since the fish CSA I belong to is based in Alaska (a long way from me) I would be reluctant to buy it if it were shipped fresh. It would be a few days old by the time it arrived. Luckily it comes flash frozen. The people who package it are proud enough of the product that they put the name of the boat on the label. Once thawed, the fish is always in pristine condition with shiny scales and no fishy smell.

Other than the price, I've been very happy with the quality and would gladly recommend them.

 

[caseydog]

Since the fish CSA I belong to is based in Alaska (a long way from me) I would be reluctant to buy it if it were shipped fresh. It would be a few days old by the time it arrived. Luckily it comes flash frozen. The people who package it are proud enough of the product that they put the name of the boat on the label. Once thawed, the fish is always in pristine condition with shiny scales and no fishy smell.

Other than the price, I've been very happy with the quality and would gladly recommend them.

I have no issues with flash frozen seafood. Getting fresh seafood in someplace like Dallas is not a practical option.

CD

 

[Jade Emperor]

I have no issues with flash frozen seafood. Getting fresh seafood in someplace like Dallas is not a practical option.

CD

Yes, that makes a lot of sense. Along the same lines as Bourdain always said - never order fish on a Sunday

 

[Silversage]

I tried Wild Alaskan Seafood for a while, but it was always the same 4 fish - salmon, cod, rockfish, and halibut. They had other species available at times, but you had to accept a basic mix of the above 4 before you could add on anything else. I just got tired of the same fish all the time. If I could have chosen my own mix (especially black cod), I probably would have continued it longer.

I like fish, but I live on the Gulf Coast, so I get plenty of grouper, snapper, mahi, shrimp, etc.

 

[larry_stewart]

I tried a meal service years ago. Partially cause I got the first few months through a charity auction, then continued for a few more months. The reason I got it was to break me out of a routine of having similar things over and over again, introducing me to new dishes and ingredients. Part of winning the auction was I was allowed to visit their establishment, meet with the CEO of the company, and watch the work in progress ( they had chefs in a test kitchen, Photography table ...).

For the first few weeks it was good. I didnt like everything, but it was a nice rotation of meals along with an assortment of ingredients. It was a cook your own type of things where the ingredients were provided (other than the produce which came whole, the rest was usually pre measured. The meals were easy to put together and none took any longer than 1/2 hour to prepare. That was one of the things they promised. Every time they came up with a new recipe, they'd give it to all the employees to try, to make sure it came out as expected, and within the time frame of 1/2 our or less ( it may have been 40 minutes or less).

After a few weeks, although there were no repetitive recipes, there were repetitive kinds of recipes . Always some kind of ' Power Bowl', Taco Variation, Stir fry ... I didnt feel the variation I had hoped for. Also, there was always missing at least one ingredient each week. I have a heavily stocked kitchen , so it didnt affect me too much, but still annoying. Finally, the meals were delivered on Wednesdays (usually 3 meals). But Thursdays and Fridays I work late enough that it doesnt allow me to prepare dinner to that extent when I get home, so it was inconvenient.

Finally, we cancelled our subscription. Not sorry we did it, but I felt we had gotten what we could out of it. A few years went by, and the CEO sold the company to a larger company for 15 Million dollars.

 

[HeyItsSara]

We use Fresh Direct and have been really happy with it

 

[Linda0818]

I started having my groceries delivered when my car broke down and I couldn't go to the grocery store. I continue to have my groceries delivered rather than go to the grocery for two reasons; it's convenient and there no chance of impulse buys. I have three stores to choose from; Albertsons/Vons, Smart & Final, and Walmart. I usually choose Wally World because of the price and selection. I used to buy from Amazon too, until they put that ridiculous $125.00 minimum you had to spend to get free delivery.

When I got my car back on the road I decided to make a grocery run to Smart & Final to get two things, bread and milk. Because of all the reduced price for quick sale and BOGO items I ended up spending almost 300 bucks American!

I used to love Amazon Fresh and purchased groceries from them often. Until, like you mentioned, they added the minimum order for free delivery, tacking on delivery fees, even for Prime members. That p'd me off, to be honest, and I stopped ordering from them. I really miss it. Out of all the grocery store delivery services I've tried (Walmart, which was a disaster, Aldi, etc) Amazon Fresh was the best. They bagged everything nicely and I always received everything I ordered.

I don't think it's fair at all that Prime members have to pay delivery fees. I always added a nice tip, of course. But between the cost of the groceries, the tip and delivery fee, it's just not feasible for me anymore. I'm on a very limited budget, so it's cheaper for me to go do my own shopping.

As for Walmart, I've found them to be ridiculously expensive as well. Aldi is always much cheaper, but they don't always have all of the items I need.

I've never tried any of the meal services. I find them to be way too expensive for me.

 

[Steve Kroll]

The reason I got it was to break me out of a routine of having similar things over and over again, introducing me to new dishes and ingredients.

This was another reason for me signing up. I felt like I was in a rut with meals and needed some new ideas.

 

[HeyItsSara]

Who remembers Amazon's Prime Pantry? Covid killed that.