Getting Groceries in the US, Meal Delivery Service Review:
Hungryroot vs Hello Chef vs Instacart
Over the past year I have packed up and moved from the UK to the US and with that move has come the need to find a new, reliable, healthy and affordable way to get groceries. I tried a number of different options and I’m here to share what’s worked and what hasn’t so far.
UK vs US food delivery options, Instacart?
One of the main differences between food in the UK and the US is that, in the US, grocery delivery is much rarer. In the UK, virtually anywhere you live will give you the option of home delivery of your groceries, be it from Sainsburys, Morrisons, Tesco, Waitrose and more. Not so much here in the US! Sure, the US has ‘Instacart’ but compared to UK grocery delivery it is a VERY expensive service. On top of delivery fees, you’ll be looking at service fees, heavy item fees, a subscription fee and let’s not forget the US’s obsession with not paying their workers fair wages and the resulting tipping fee that is expected. So, all in all, I do not find Instacart a viable option for grocery delivery.
Pros of Instacart:
- Quick delivery, often within an hour or two of placing your order
- Good real time communication between your picker and yourself via the app regarding substitutions.
Con’s of Instacart:
- very expensive for the service offered
Meal delivery options- Hungryroot vs Hello Fresh USA
Hello Fresh Review
When I lived in the UK I tried out Hello Fresh but found that they didn’t live up to the ‘fresh’ part of their advertising. I’d often have meat going off a day after delivery. Same situation with the vegetables; it wasn’t a service I was particularly happy with in the UK.
After much research I decided to give them another go here in the US. I’m happy to report that there does appear to be a decided level of improvement with their freshness here.
That’s not to say it’s been perfect. I’ve had a couple of boxes with missing ingredients. I’ve also had a box that sent me a meal for two as opposed to the meal for four that I had ordered. That one took 45mins to sort out via the live chat. On the plus side, if you complain they will refund you a considerable amount of money. So, honestly, despite the hiccups I feel fairly compensated for their mistakes. You just need to be proactive and report any problems right away and you should get most of your money back.
However, there is one thing about Hello Fresh I’m not terribly fond of and that is the complexity of their recipes. I’m sure no one here is ordering meal kits because they have tons of time to spend cooking! Each Hello Fresh meal takes at least a half hour to prep and cook, some much longer. Because of this we had to switch to 4 person meals instead of 2 person meals. We cook on one night and eat the rest the 2nd night as leftovers. This has cut down on the amount of cooking needed and I do recommend this strategy to reduce your workload.
Story Time
Hello Fresh reminds me of a story I heard from back in the day. Back when box cake mixes came on the market in the 60’s or thereabouts, the companies were concerned that women (of course it was women, this was the 60’s!) would feel like they weren’t ‘really’ baking a cake and that they were cheating by using the box cake mix. To combat this, the companies separated out the ingredients so that you would now have to add the egg and milk yourself. This made it a more authentic baking experience and consequently women were more likely to buy their products.
The fact of the matter is that it is completely possible to make these cake mixes so you just add water and bake. The manufacturers made it MORE COMPLICATED to make people feel like they were doing more and I feel like Hello Fresh is doing the same exact thing.
These recipes could easily be simplified. They could send out the veg pre-chopped and the sauces especially could be sent pre-packaged. But they don’t, and I suspect this is to make people feel like they are better cooks than they actually are. It’s ego stroking the consumer at the expense of their time and I feel this is the opposite of what a meal delivery service, that is meant to be saving us time, should do.
Hungryroot Review
I was doing pretty well with Hello Fresh and our 4 person meal + leftovers strategy but that meant that what to eat for lunch was beginning to be an issue. In an effort to find quick, healthy meals that could be eaten for lunch with a minimum of effort I decided to try out Hungryroot.
I must say this is a very good service. The meals are very simple to make and their time estimates are accurate. If they say it takes 4 mins to put a meal together you can guarantee that it will take 4 mins! I love this about them.
Dietary Preferences:
Hungryroot has a large variety of dietary preferences you can chose from. Unlike Hello Fresh, which is actually fairly limited in that regard. You can select vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian and much more and the recipes are tailored to your dietary preferences.
Freshness:
The groceries last for ages! I’ve been super impressed with the longevity of the ingredients that Hungryroot has sent me. Sometimes the meal plan for the week doesn’t go as planned and I still have meals leftover. As long as you make sure to cook any meat or fish dishes first the vegetarian and vegan dishes will last for a long time in the fridge. I’ve cooked things over two weeks old and the ingredients were still good.
Conclusion:
Both Hello Fresh and Hungryroot fill a niche in my life. Hello Fresh for dinners every other day and Hungryroot for lunch every day. Sometimes if we’re feeling lazy I’ll do a Hungryroot meal for dinner, they’re not as big or filling but are perfect if you just want a light dinner.
I won’t be using Instacart unless I’m hosting a get together. The extra fees are really not worth the cost even when factoring in gas and time to go out to a grocery store myself. For a large party where you have a time crunch Instacart can save you a ton of time but that’s about all I’ll be using it for.
