The price of food has dominated headlines during the last two years with inflation hammering groceries such as eggs and restaurants facing instability off the heels of COVID-19 impacts.
For a brief period, it became more economical to eat at a restaurant than to buy groceries. But there’s a third option. No, I’m not talking about growing your own food, although I’m impressed if you do.
I’m talking about meal delivery services.
Is it actually cheaper than eating out and buying groceries? That’s what a listener of the Clark Howard Podcast recently asked.
Meal Delivery Services vs. Groceries vs. Eating Out: Which Is Cheaper?
Which food option provides the best value: meal delivery, groceries or eating out?
That’s what a Clark listener asked on the June 8 podcast episode.
Asked Cody in Pennsylvania: “I know you have recently talked about the price differences going back and forth between eating out and going to the grocery store. What about meal delivery services such as Hello Fresh? Do those provide a better value than spending money on either of the other two?”
Generally, most of the popular national meal delivery services aren’t cheap. So Clark’s answer may surprise you.
“The advantage of using a meal delivery service is it eliminates impulse buying,” Clark says. “And the convenience of a meal that is virtually an MRE, just eat and serve, if it gets you to divert eating out at a nice restaurant, it will be more potentially economical for you.
“The other thing is that if your health is a big factor for you, subscribing to one of these services or having delivery from one of them may actually improve the quality of the health content of the food you’re eating.”
Clark often considers behavioral economics when providing financial advice. This is a great example of a situation where the raw math may not be practical when making the best decision for you. And Clark is onto something here with the hidden costs of shopping at a grocery store.
My Experience With Meal Delivery Services
I’ve tried a few national meal delivery services including Sunbasket and Freshly (now out of business). Despite the brand names — many of which suggest a combination of fresh and healthy — I found them to be a marginal upgrade over the old-school microwave dinners from the frozen aisle of the grocery store.
It’s not easy to pre-cook a meal, preserve it, cool it, ship it across the country (with some level of thawing inevitable), put it back into a refrigerator, microwave it and still have a product that tastes fresh. Your local farmer’s market, and even your favorite grocery store, is going to produce something that’s fresher.
I switched to a local meal delivery service. The food is much fresher. I pay $125 a week for two small breakfasts and eight lunches or dinners. So that’s $12.50 a meal.
That’s not as much money as I pay when I go out to eat. And the meals contain fewer calories and are more nutritious.
It’s more expensive than if I were to buy groceries. But that’s discounting gas money, anything I’d buy at the store on impulse and the time it takes to buy groceries, cook and do dishes. It’s also discounting the money I’d spend eating out when I get worn down by the time and effort it takes to cook.
So meal delivery services can be quite convenient. And at least for me, it probably saves me money vs. groceries and definitely saves money vs. eating out. It also helps me eat healthier and saves me time.
The danger is if you get, say, 10 meals delivered in a week but only eat seven of them. Food waste is something you have to be careful about.
Final Thoughts
Despite the marketing, meal delivery services aren’t necessarily the freshest or healthiest option. You can’t press “buy” and instantly upgrade your eating habits and health. Although sometimes they can help.
However, if you’re looking for value, a meal delivery service can curtail the number of times you eat out and shrink the number of grocery store impulse purchases you make.
For some people, it’s a great way to save time and cut down on your food expenses.
