Meal kit companies are not new. They’ve been around for several years at this point. Chances are good that you’ve probably checked into one or two of them at some point during that time. However, they’re finally starting to come into their own, thanks in large part to the benefits and advantages they provide in a world struggling with COVID-19, lockdowns, quarantines, and social distancing.
Despite government action, COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc around the world. Many people are still working remotely. We’ve cut down on going out, interacting with friends and family, and have canceled events large and small. All of this in the name of preventing the virus from spreading from person to person while we wait for a vaccine to be developed.
However, most of us haven’t been able to cut out those trips to the grocery store. Food is vital for life, and the only sure way to get high-quality, delicious food is to go to the store and buy it. Or is it? If you take a look at a HelloFresh Canada review, you’ll find that the service has a very high satisfaction rating, but also delivers fresh, locally-sourced, pre-portioned food right to your door.
For many people, a trip to the grocery store doesn’t sound all that risky. After all, you’re not packed too closely with other people. You’re able to turn around and go the other way down an aisle if it’s too congested, too.
The truth is that your risk does rise in a grocery store. It increases anytime you’re out of your home or around someone who isn’t part of your regular household. Despite the fact that grocery stores have implemented safety guidelines, are requiring masks, and have turned many aisles into one-way streets, that risk remains.
Where does it come from? Here’s a quick breakdown:
Simply going to the grocery store is a gamble. Is the chance that you’ll contract COVID-19 while shopping as high as, say, going to a restaurant or having a drink in a bar? No, it’s not. However, it’s not negligible, either. Meal kits allow you to reduce that risk even further by limiting or even eliminating the need for frequent grocery shopping.
One of the most crucial steps to limiting the spread of COVID-19 is to reduce your contact with those outside your home. HelloFresh (and other meal kit companies, to be honest), allow you to do that in several ways. Here are the benefits at a glance:
There are some important knock-on benefits to be found here, as well. For instance, if you’re going out less often, you need to use fewer disposable facemasks and gloves. Not only does that ensure there are more available for healthcare workers and essential employees, but it also mitigates your impact on the landfill.
Speaking of waste, ordering from a meal kit company also helps you reduce the number of single-use plastics out in the wild. Most grocery stores today require that you use disposable plastic shopping bags and won’t allow you to use reusable bags to prevent the virus from spreading through contact with the fabric, even though single-use plastics are dangerous to the environment.
The benefits of using a meal kit company like HelloFresh don’t just extend to your contact with other people. You’ll also find that the very food you’re eating is safer thanks to the significant safety measures many of these companies are putting in place. For instance, HelloFresh guarantees that:
As mentioned, some meal kit companies source the foods included in each kit from your local area. There are quite a few benefits here. Of course, there are the obvious ones, such as reducing carbon emissions, eliminating the need for warehousing, and the ability to enjoy fresher, healthier food.
However, there are other advantages on offer with locally-sourced foods, particularly in the age of COVID-19. Many local growers and producers have experienced a reduction in orders due in large part to COVID-19 regulations. When meal kit companies source their foods locally, that means more business for these businesses and helps prevent small family farms and ranches from failing.
As you can see, there are plenty of reasons that meal kit companies like HelloFresh are part of the answer to COVID-19. From limiting your interaction with other people to reducing your use of PPE and other vital equipment and even helping reduce waste, you’ll reap many benefits. Not the least of these is the broad range of meal plans on offer. Whether you’ve got a small family or a large one, are vegetarian or love meat, want just a little help or a lot, you can find the perfect solution to help ensure you and your loved ones have access to delicious, healthy food.