By now you’re well aware of the effect coronavirus has had on our daily lives. Bars, restaurants, and stores all over the country have closed their doors while they wait out the end of this pandemic. Sure, many grocery stores are still operating. But, even if you stop in when the doors open, you’re met with aisles empty of toilet paper, meat (unless you like mutton and turkey necks), and pasta. Even doing your regular weekly shopping is nearly impossible. People are panic shopping and clearing shelves from Savannah to Seattle. So, it’s in your best interest to use a service that either does your grocery shopping for you or literally drops off a box of ingredients with a recipe that’s simple and easy to make. We’re all for the ease (and pain-free nature) of these subscription food box services. That’s why we decided to rank our favorites. Check them all out below.
Photo: Stephanie Rausser (Getty Images)
Get creative: Hilariously Inventive DIY Face Masks That May (Or May Not) Keep Coronavirus Away
Panic At The Grocery Store: The 8 Weirdest Things People Are Buying For Their Coronavirus Lockdown
Help Prevent the Spread of the Coronavirus
Visit the Centers for Disease Control at CDC.gov or the World Health Organization at Who.int for the latest information on the coronavirus and learn what you can do to stop the spread.
Follow Mandatory on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Best Meal Kits
-
8. Instacart
Similar to Amazon Fresh, Instacart makes shopping for groceries simple. That’s because, using their app, you tell Instacart what groceries you want, pay for them with a credit card, they do the shopping and you simply pick them up at the grocery store. They even work with big chains like Wegmans, Publix, Costco, CVS, and Kroger.
Photo: Instacart
-
7. Daily Harvest
If you like fresh fruit and smoothies, then Daily Harvest should be your jam. That’s because this subscription service has smoothies, harvest bowls, soups, lattes, chia bowls, and oat bowls all created with the freshest, healthiest ingredients guaranteed to make you stay slim during your quarantine.
Photo: Daily Harvest
-
6. Amazon Fresh
Apparently, Amazon can do everything. Sure, we use Prime to get our favorite shampoo with next-day delivery. But the brand also has Amazon Fresh where you can literally just order groceries and have them delivered to you. Sure, you need to pick the menu but at least you don’t have to set foot in a store and potentially get contaminated.
Photo: Amazon
-
5. FreshDirect
If you happen to live in the New York metropolitan area and you don’t want to step into a grocery store until the pandemic panic is over, use FreshDirect. The difference between Instacart and FreshDirect is that the latter will deliver your groceries to your home or office. That means you don’t even have to leave your house or apartment to get that bag of Flaming Hot Cheetos you’ve been craving all day.
Photo: FreshDirect
-
4. Green Chef
Green Chef is the perfect subscription meal box for people with specific diets. That’s because they offer keto, paleo, and even plant-based options. This is definitely the choice for healthier eaters who don’t want to settle for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches while they wait out the novel coronavirus.
Photo: Green Chef
-
3. Blue Apron
One of the most well-known meal kits, Blue Apron offers a choice of meals that includes the likes of quick one-pan dinners, customer favorites, and more. After you pick your meals, a box arrives with everything you need create a meal that you can pretend you made from scratch.
Photo: Blue Apron
-
2. HelloFresh
There’s a reason HelloFresh is the largest meal kit brand. The brand claims to provide the most diverse amount of recipes with simple directions, nutritional information, and various kinds of boxes. They range from 20-minute meals, craft burgers, taste tours, one-pot wonders, and more. There are enough options to make anyone think you went to culinary school instead of getting your associates degree in communications.
Photo: HelloFresh
-
1. Home Chef
Home Chef couldn’t be easier to use. Since you can’t venture out to a restaurant and you don’t want to wade through panicked shoppers, if you use Home Chef, all you need to do is pick the meals you want (you can even customize them) and they’ll send you all the ingredients. You can even get oven-ready meals and slow cooker meals if you’re really lazy.
Photo: Home Chef
