Think Inside the Box: The Best of Meal and Grocery Delivery
Time in college is a precious thing. Things slip through the cracks. Before you know it, it’s dinner time and you have no food in the fridge, or maybe you woke up for your 8 a.m. class to realize that you don’t have so much as a granola bar in the pantry. We looked into the best meal and grocery delivery services to reduce stress and save time.
Meal services are an incredible option for those who enjoy cooking, want to learn, or are just looking to simplify their meal prep. Each week, a company sends you a box with the exact amount of each ingredient you will need, as well as the instructions on how to prepare and cook your meal. It is a great way to create easy meals on the fly and still enjoy the cooking process. Many companies cater to different ways of eating, like vegan or vegetarian, so there’s an option for every student’s lifestyle. Some even sell gift cards. Mom, are you reading this?
The following are some of the most popular and well-reviewed meal delivery companies.
Home Chef
Tagline: “Home Cooking Made Simple”
Dietary Accommodations: gluten-free, low calorie, vegan, preferred types of meat, and different allergy options
Menu Plans
You get two meals per week (four total servings).
This plan will cost about $49.80, and if you’re cooking for just one person, you will have four meals ready to eat.
You can alter this plan, but there is a minimum of two servings per meal, and a minimum of two meals per week. Keep in mind though that you can’t order more than six meals a week.
Perks
There’s a student discount option.
Enjoy $30 off first order. If you refer a friend, you both get a $30 credit.
There are 18 different recipes to choose from every week, but all recipes are accessible at any time.
No commitment. You can cancel, pause, or skip a week.
Hello Fresh
Tagline: “Simply Delicious Meals”
Dietary Accommodations: vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, allergy-altered, select specific likes and dislikes
Menu Plans
The Classic Plan: This plan costs about $8.99 per serving, feeds two or four people, and contains two to four recipes per week.
The Veggie Plan: Consists of three recipes, feeds two or four people, and costs about $8.99 per serving. This plan is entirely veggie-based and does not contain meat.
The Family Plan: Costs about $7.87 per serving and will contain two to three recipes per week. It’s probably their best value, since it consistently feeds four people.
Perks
There’s a student discount option.
Receive $60 off your first order.
You get 15 different recipes to select from every week.
There’s no commitment. You can skip or pause whenever you’d like.
Green Chef
Tagline: “Delicious Meals for All Lifestyles”
Dietary Accommodations: gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, paleo, carnivore, keto, and omnivore options
Menu Plans
The Two Person Plan: This plan consists of three recipes to serve two people each. Each meal per serving averages $11.99, but can be altered depending on the recipes that you choose from the menu.
The Family Plan: The Family Plan breaks down into several different plans based on your dietary accommodations. However, there will consistently be two recipes per week that include four servings. Each of these servings is going to average around $10.99 per meal.
Perks
Certified organic options.
Choose from the weekly recipes provided based on your chosen accommodations.
Sun Basket
Tagline: “Healthy Cooking Made Easy”
Dietary Accommodations: paleo, lean and clean, vegetarian, Mediterranean, vegan, and pescatarian options
Menu Plans
The Classic Menu: With 18 recipes to choose from each week, the Classic Menu is the most diverse. You choose three different recipes that will serve two or four people. Each of these servings will be priced at about $11.99, and depending on how many servings you choose, the total price will vary.
The Family Menu: For the family plan, there are six different recipes to choose from each week. You can choose two to four per week, and each meal will serve four people. The number of servings cannot change, but if you pick this plan you will always have leftovers! Each serving starts around $10.99, so plan on spending anywhere from $87.92 to $175.84, depending on how many recipes a week you want.
Perks
50 percent off your first delivery
Certified organic options.
No commitment. You can cancel or skip at any time.
Blue Apron
Dietary Accommodations: based on dietary preferences and allergy accommodations.
Menu Plans
The Two Person Plan: There are variations of this plan, and you can get two or three recipes per week. Your total will depend on which you choose, but the per-serving cost averages about $9.99.
The Family Plan: Offers two to four recipes per week and serves four per recipe. Similar to the Two Person Plan, you determine your cost. For two recipes under the Family Plan, each serving averages $8.99. For three recipes, the each serving average $7.99, and for four recipes, each serving averages $7.49. Basically, the more recipes per week, the lower cost per serving.
Perks
Includes Whole30 recipe options.
You get $20 off your first order.
There’s no commitment! You have the right to cancel or skip a delivery week at any time.
Maybe meal delivery isn’t your thing, but what if I told you that you that you didn’t have to wander down the aisles of the grocery store any longer? In other words, you have a personal shopper that does the hard part for you, and you just sit back and have your groceries gathered for you. The greatest part about this is that it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. Stores in every area are quickly changing to a more stress-free way of grocery shopping for their customers.
Walmart
With Walmart’s grocery service, you never have to leave your car. They will bring out your bags and send you on your way. All you have to do is reserve your pickup time online. Try it out with $10 off your first pickup purchase.
Kroger
Kroger has teamed up with Instacart to bring groceries to your counter. You get to choose your delivery time. And the best part? You can get more than just food delivered. The whole store is at your fingertips. Stock up on shampoo, dish soap, whatever!
Shipt
Shipt is coming soon to the Auburn area, and you can get two weeks free! Scroll through the aisles online, select your goods, and the Shipt shoppers will do the work for you. You can even text the shoppers to make adjustments to your list or to get live updates from the aisles during their shopping experience. We live in the future.
If you struggle to find the time to get to the store, consider having your groceries or meals sent to your doorstep. Leave the grocery lists and meal prep planning to the delivery companies and give yourself the time you need to focus on other things.
As always,
Be well, Auburn.
Photography: Kyleigh M.
Originally born on the Plains, there is no other option than being an Auburn Tiger. Ashley is a senior majoring in marketing and looks forward to moving back to Birmingham to be close to family, and to start her career as the North Alabama Marketing Representative for her employer.
New to the Recreation and Wellness Center, Ashley enjoys every day working here, not only because she feels more a part of the Auburn Family, but because she is learning more about how to stay active and live a healthy lifestyle. When she is not on one of her organization or cleaning binges, you can find her shopping for shoes or watching an entire season of the newest Netflix show with her best friends. She is a fanatic for Fall, loves cooking, finding new hobbies, and can always be found running in the rain.
