March 13, 2019 4 min read

Food delivery programs have quickly gained popularity in recent years, and it is easy to understand why. Many people like to cook their own food but may not have time to shop for the necessary groceries to make that happen. With a food delivery service, the groceries arrive at your door and all you have to do is prepare them and enjoy.

Unfortunately, one issue that may come up if you try a food delivery service is the matter of package security. You won’t have anything to eat if your delivery is stolen off your front porch or damaged by the weather! With this article, we’d like to take a closer look at the food delivery concept, its benefits, and how you can keep your deliveries safe week after week.

Get to Know the Market

If you haven’t tried a food delivery program for yourself, you may be surprised to find just how many are available on the market today. The specific meal service you select will depend on your own personal preferences, as well as your budget. Here are some of the top food delivery programs today:

  • Blue Apron. You have likely heard of this service, as it was one of the first to make a splash in the market.
  • Home Chef. Home Chef delivers pre-portioned ingredients and recipes to subscribers weekly across the U.S. Select your recipe preferences, and have the ingredients delivered to your door.
  • Freshly. Rather than delivering you ingredients to prepare, Freshly delivers meals that are ready to heat and eat.
  • Plated. This is another popular option, which has plenty of ways you can customize your order—including gluten-free, vegetarian, low-calorie selections, and more.
  • HelloFresh. HelloFresh focuses on letting you customize your menu from week to week, making it easy to receive meals that fit your tastes.

The Many Benefits

Meal delivery programs have become popular for a very good reason. Having ingredients or finished meals delivered to the house can make day to day life more manageable. That can be true for the busy professional who consistently gets home late in the evening or for the family busy shuttling kids to and from various activities.

Let’s take a closer look at a few benefits of food delivery programs:

  • Save time. If you wind up eating out or ordering takeout frequently just because you don’t have time to go grocery shopping, this kind of service might be for you. Saving that step could be all the encouragement you need to eat more meals at home.
  • Keep things fresh. Everyone knows what it’s like to fall into the trap of making the same things for dinner over and over again. Even if you do a good job of cooking your own food regularly, you might not be able to think of many new recipes to prepare. In the end, you wind up eating the same few meals each week, and you long for some variety.
  • Learn new skills. By following along with the instructions prepared to make your meals, you might find that you learn a few new kitchen skills along the way.

A Potential Drawback

Okay—so far, it all sounds pretty good. And it is good, as long as you are able to receive your delivery intact. Unfortunately, package theft is a real problem—and bad weather like heavy rain simply isn’t included in your favorite dinner recipe. If you are going to confidently order from a food delivery service, you will want to make sure that no one is going to steal your packages and that the weather can’t ruin your meals.

So, what can you do? Well, there are a few options:

  • Wait for your delivery.You can try to be home during the delivery, which will obviously solve the problem. That’s great when it works out, but most people aren’t able to plan their lives around a delivery schedule.
  • Ask a neighbor.Another step you can take is to ask a neighbor to grab the package for you and hold it until you return. This is also a good choice but won’t be viable for many people.
  • Use a lockbox.Perhaps the best available option to keep your food deliveries safe is a lockbox, which can be placed on your porch to receive deliveries. Once the food delivery is placed in the lockbox, it will be nicely secured and protected from weather until you return home to bring it inside and prepare your meal. As an added bonus, you will have this lockbox in place to receive other deliveries that might be coming your way!
  • More solutions. Be sure to read our post on the top solutions for package theft for more great ideas.

PARCELBIN Will Keep Your Deliveries Safe!

If you need a reliable lockbox to protect your food deliveries and other packages, PARCELBIN is a perfect choice. This is a durable and secure drop box that will protect your packages while looking great. Happy cooking!



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