I think services like this are fantastic for teaching people how to cook and meal plan, ideally for young adults living on their own for the first time. Outside of the foundational argument, I don't really understand the benefit.
To go a little off topic, what bothers me about groups like this, whole foods, and others, is the amount of needless packaging. For me, I buy all of my animal proteins at one of three butchers and most of my veg and bread at one of two farm markets (or a farm itself). At least around Vancouver, this is not difficult process to emulate.
These groups seem to justify their packaging by saying it's recyclable -- but that's just not good enough.
Whenever possible I try to get friends into the butcher / farm market system and away from those overly priced supermarkets. For me, I can make a fairly substantial dinner, braised chicken with plenty of veg in a madras curry sauce on rice with naan bread (from a local indian restaurant since its $2) for about $12 total. The main expense is the chicken, but even that comes to about $7 or so. This meal can easily feed four adults.
Getting these ingredients from a typical supermarket (not Whole Foods) would easily surpass $30.
If you find some time, take a cooking class or two. With some basic skills and some planning, you can easily do most of your prep in advance (sort of like /r/MealPrepSunday, but for the next few days' recipes). For me, I prefer to shop daily since I find it extremely relaxing, but most veg will last quite a long time in the right conditions[1].
Growing up, my mother was a horrible cook (still is), so I was in the same boat as you. There are lots of ways to get into cooking, but, if you're interested, one really easy method is to cook your way through Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution [2]. Don't worry about buying the bigger kitchen tools like a food processor or anything, just make sure you have a good knife and some basic pans. I believe there's a list in the front of the book.
Definitely. Even outside of the animal proteins, shopping at farm markets and such is remarkably cheaper.
One of the main hurdles for some friends has been purchasing less than picturesque veg. I challenge them to find the ugliest ones (without bruising, etc), which does help the conversion :)
oh yeah! Not a farmers market. Those are $$$. Find a farm market where a lot of immigrants shop. They're typically smaller buildings with lots of stuff crammed in. Often the produce is stored on homemade wooden racks.
The one I go to is called Persian Market, but there are a few other Italian ones that are almost as good. Dig around Yelp for farm markets under a single dollar sign.
To go a little off topic, what bothers me about groups like this, whole foods, and others, is the amount of needless packaging. For me, I buy all of my animal proteins at one of three butchers and most of my veg and bread at one of two farm markets (or a farm itself). At least around Vancouver, this is not difficult process to emulate.
These groups seem to justify their packaging by saying it's recyclable -- but that's just not good enough.
Whenever possible I try to get friends into the butcher / farm market system and away from those overly priced supermarkets. For me, I can make a fairly substantial dinner, braised chicken with plenty of veg in a madras curry sauce on rice with naan bread (from a local indian restaurant since its $2) for about $12 total. The main expense is the chicken, but even that comes to about $7 or so. This meal can easily feed four adults.
Getting these ingredients from a typical supermarket (not Whole Foods) would easily surpass $30.