Read more: Are Some Meal Kits Cheaper Than Buying Groceries? I Did the Math. If you're looking for inexpensive vegan meals by mail or an affordable meal kit service that includes steak and seafood in the standard plan, we have picks for those, too. The takeaway? Being budget-friendly certainly doesn't mean the food has to suck.
If you're looking to eliminate a few weekly tasks -- grocery shopping, meal planning, prep, cooking -- without squeezing your budget, we tested more than 10 top wallet-friendly services to find the best cheap meal delivery for The bottom line : EveryPlate's meal kits were all solid and easy to make.
EveryPlate meal kits are easy to prepare and I loved everything I made in multiple rounds of testing. You won't find a lot of foofy, upscale cuisine or complicated recipes, but you will get a lot of satisfying comfort food, such as hoisin meatloaf with mashed potatoes, cheeseburgers, umami pork chops and sweet potato quesadillas.
I tested EveryPlate and was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked the meals. Having tested all of the leading prepared meal delivery service options, Fresh N Lean ran away from the competition, ticking more boxes than any other. The food is healthy, thoughtfully prepared, tastes fantastic, looks appetizing and is fairly affordable, depending on the plan you select.
Fresh N Lean has five meal plans to help keep folks on track with their specific nutrition goals, including low-carb, vegan, paleo and protein-plus options. The food I tried was all made exceptionally well, made from simple, whole ingredients.
This is the perfect service for families with picky eaters trying to eat well on a budget. Much like EveryPlate, Dinnerly has a lot of comfort foods such as ravioli with spinach and parmesan sauce, carne asada tacos and chicken pad thai.
Dinnerly has an enormous menu of recipes -- typically more than 60 to choose from in a given week. The bottom line: This plant-based meal delivery service had some of the best, healthy prepared meals of any service we tried.
I sampled about nine of Mosaic Food's plant-based prepared meal offerings and the vegetarian prepared meal delivery service had an astoundingly high hit rate. Mosaic uses bold and interesting global flavors and employs creative use of meat substitutes such as tofu, jackfruit, cauliflower and vegan sausages to create tasty and satisfying vegetarian meals -- even for this omnivore.
There are some vegan meals, but many of them use dairy products, so vegans must choose their Mosaic meals more carefully. The bottom line: Blue Apron is a classic example of a quality meal delivery service. One of the original providers of this service, it also stands out for eco-friendliness.
Blue Apron is one of the original meal kit services and it's also one of the best. In fact, Blue Apron topped our list of best meal delivery services for with a wide range of excellent recipes, all for an affordable price.
It's true, you can order bistro steaks and roasted trout dinners with Blue Apron's standard plan, where many services charge extra for those premium proteins.
In addition to solid meal kits, Blue Apron is the most eco-friendly service of the major players, according to a recent study. The heartier meals are great too, like the cauliflower rice and pesto harvest bowl with cashews and spinach. You won't need more than a saucepan, toaster or blender to prepare most of the meals, and most can be made in as little as 5 minutes.
When I tried Daily Harvest , I loved the interesting smoothie combos such as a chocolate blueberry smoothie with greens, banana and almond butter. The bottom line : It doesn't get much easier than HelloFresh.
This service has tons of cheap meal kit options, more than 50 per week, and allows you to add proteins or extra servings to keep the whole crew fed and happy. HelloFresh has as many as 25 dinner meal kits per week, so it is nearly impossible not to find something you'll like.
HelloFresh also has five or six plant-based recipes a week, making it the best cheap meal kit service for vegetarians. Over the past few years, we've tested nearly every meal kit delivery and prepared meal delivery service we could get our oven mitts on, and that includes the best budget meal delivery services.
Many of the menu options for the meal delivery services we've listed include nutritious plant-based food or high-protein recipes with lots of veggies and lean meats. To test each cheap meal delivery service, I tried at least four and sometimes as many as 10 meals from any given service.
I always choose a range of meals from the various menu and meal plan offerings. For instance, if a meal subscription service offers vegan or vegetarian meals I was sure to try at least one. I also mixed up the cuisine types to include pasta, meat dishes, bowls and other various styles offered by the brand.
To test the best cheap meal kits, there was another set of standards and protocols to adhere to. Here's more on how we test meal kits at CNET.
The first big decision you'll make is whether you want meal kits, which require some prep and cooking, or a prepared meal service that sends fully cooked meals ready to heat and eat. Prepared meals require almost no time and energy, other than what it takes to actually eat the food, but typically run a few dollars more per serving.
If you're keen on eating low-calorie, low-carb, plant-based or pescatarian food, certain meal kits and meal delivery services are better than others. Our list of the healthiest meal delivery services for is a good place to find the most nutritious options.
With almost every service, the more meals or servings are in your order per delivery, the cheaper it becomes per meal. Ideally, you'll want to determine exactly how much food makes sense for your household. That means it's less of an issue if you order too many meals on your first go-around.
Services like Daily Harvest and Splendid Spoon have meals for similar prices but are focused more on grain bowls and smoothies and might be better for breakfast or lunch versus dinner. When it comes to meal kits, your options are many, and most services provide weekly recipes that are low on calories but still filling.
HelloFresh has the most recipes per week of any meal kit service, so that might be your best bet for finding consistent meals that keep your diet goals on track. But all services list the calorie content for each recipe, along with carbs, protein, sugar and sodium.
Depending on your weight loss goals, a healthy prepared meal delivery or meal kit service can help. Fresh N Lean, Pete's Real Food and Daily Harvest all have low-calorie meals to choose from.
Some of the services listed here are healthy prepared meal delivery services , sending fully cooked meals -- often frozen or partially frozen -- and ready to eat when you receive them. Others include health-focused meal kits with premeasured ingredients all boxed up and ready for easy weeknight cooking.
Make sure to check the schedule daily for the most up-to-date locations and times. SNAP Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — also known as food stamps — is a government program that helps people buy the food necessary for healthy lives. Across the United States, there are 9.
At certain Salvation Army food pantries, our caseworkers and volunteers can give you the resources to apply for SNAP. While most U. families enjoy a consistent supply of food for a healthy lifestyle, referred to as "food secure," there are instances where households face food insecurity, indicating that their access to adequate food is restricted due to insufficient funds and resources.
According to a study by the United States Department of Agriculture USDA , households with very low food security reported the following conditions in the annual food security survey:.
In providing its hunger relief programs and services, The Salvation Army is committed to accommodating all those in need without unlawful discrimination or harassment based on age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, marital status, disability, citizenship, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or any other characteristic in accordance with our capacity to help.
The Salvation Army is dedicated to eliminating food insecurity by serving anyone in need. By providing hunger relief programs and services, The Salvation Army is committed to accommodating all those in need without unlawful discrimination or harassment based on age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, marital status, disability, citizenship, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or any other characteristic in accordance with our capacity to help.
Depending on the location, there may be certain eligibility requirements to receive assistance. Please contact your nearest location to see if you need to bring any of the following documents:.
In some locations, you may be eligible to get support from your local food bank as well, even if you:. In , we served over million meals across the United States. See how many meals were provided to your neighbors in the map below. Love Beyond Annual Report. Never Miss a Chance to Do the Most Good Please enter your name, email and zip code below to sign up!
Please enter your first name. Please enter your last name. Please enter a valid email address. Please enter a valid zip code. Follow us on Facebook. You can opt for the two-person or the four-person plan and then select the amount of meals you need per week, from just two to six.
I wanted to go all out comfort food, as I knew Martha would be proud of that decision, choosing the Pastrami Spice-Rubbed Steak and the Cheesy Sausage Brunch Bake for something a bit easier. When unboxing the ingredients, I liked how the included recipe cards listed out exactly what I would need, making for easier sorting in my fridge and also making a mental note of the extras I would need, like butter, oil, vinegar, and some household spices.
The cards also list the cooking tools you need, as well as allergens and nutrition per serving. However, I was rewarded for my time and effort, as the steaks were perfectly seasoned with her spice blend, and the recipe yielded lovely mashed potatoes and green beans for a very all-American dinner. Home Chef brings the elements of comfort food and home cooking to your doorstep, with recipes tailored to fit your schedule.
When curating my own box, I imagined all the types of meals I cook in order to go about my day well-fed and on time. For a taste test, I went with the happy medium of the three, opting for the minute hoisin pulled pork with jasmine rice.
The first note to make is on the notes themselves. The recipe cards were super well-organized, making my type-A personality very happy.
After unzipping the correct package for my meal, the cooking process was as easy as promised, clocking in at about 20 minutes due to my slower chopping skills. The four-part directions were a breeze to read and also featured photos for those who need a photographic confidence boost to compare their cooking to.
With new meals offered weekly, choose between regular meal kits, minute meals, easy-prep and oven-ready meals, and extras like a protein pack of meats and fish to supplement a kit or make your own recipes with. Many meals can also be customized with Impossible Foods products, for those who go meat-free without sacrificing taste.
This year, it was my home in Brooklyn that allowed me to try the delicious meals, as they do ship to New York as well as most of the contiguous US states you can check by entering your area code on the site from three warehouses in New Jersey, Texas and California.
You can choose between three and six meals per week, and pick if you want the box to be vegetarian. As a carnivore myself, I left the box unchecked and ordered three meals, trying to see the full range of options when it came time to cook, prep, and clean up.
I loved to see that many meals only required one pot or pan, while others on the weekly menu are listed as minute meals or meals with no knife required — perfect for cooking with the kids and those with no knife skills. A few other things I noticed while cooking up my Buffalo Fried Chicken Sandwich was just how fresh the ingredients were, admiring the tiny head of butter lettuce and the soft dinner rolls.
This was a minute meal, and it truly was, as I was able to toss the green beans in the oven and work on the chicken at the same time, without feeling stressed or getting too messy. The plus side is that the recipes live online, so there is no need to store sticky cards on your bookshelf or try and photocopy for later.
How they can make both one-pot pasta and a full steak meal in just six steps is beyond me, but it works and makes meals manageable for all skill levels. I decided to go big or go home with my test cook, choosing a steak with mushroom cream sauce and roasted potatoes and carrots for a Monday night dinner.
HelloFresh packages each set of ingredients conveniently into individual brown paper bags. Once unpacked, I did a quick wash and dry for the produce, and the rest of the meal was pretty straightforward. I timed the cook, and sure enough, it was pretty close to the estimation on the cards — 47 minutes for me for a slightly more well-done steak and an older oven for the crispy potatoes.
The green cousin of Hello Fresh, Green Chef stands out as a traditional meal kit with better-for-you options. When researching all the kits on the market, I noticed that Green Chef offered the first Keto options for those following a fad diet trend.
Now, they offer an array of other options, too, from vegetarian to plant-based to paleo. I went with the sesame shrimp noodle bowls from their gluten-free menu, which claimed to take 25 minutes to cook. The kit came with everything I needed, sans salt, pepper and cooking oil, so make sure you have those on hand.
A new sister site to the HelloFresh family, Factor is unlike the rest of its siblings in that no cooking is required — unless you consider using a microwave cooking.
I decided to cook my pumpkin pancakes in the microwave, to see if they really stand up to the chewy-making effect a micro can have on some frozen foods.
The cons: even though it was a microwave meal, there were a few sticky steps, such as flipping each hot pancake and then making sure the butter was melted all the way through the stack of three cakes. As for the taste, neither a pro nor a con.
They definitely tasted like healthier pancakes — butter and syrup helped — and the addition of the nuts on top was a satisfying touch. To wash it all down, I also grabbed one of the cold-pressed juices — Factor also offers wellness shots in addition to their four juice flavors.
The pineapple turmeric basil juice sounded super interesting, and sure enough, it was as tasty as it was vitamin-packed. The option to go to my fridge instead of a 9-dollar-a-pop juice shop with a hipster barista is worth it in and of itself for me.
There are even dessert options, too — the dark chocolate peppermint keto-friendly cheesecake was my personal favorite. The very best part of this kit for me was the ability to feel like I was having a fancy meal without any of the work.
Not only for Thanksgiving , Gobble is the meal kit that serves up generous turkey-day-sized portions no matter the season. The first thing I noticed about Gobble was just how much fresh produce I received in my order. For the beautiful Italian flat iron steak meal, which is supposedly two servings, I got a huge bag of ripe cherry tomatoes and an entire bundle of green onions.
For my miso-baked salmon, I got a giant bag of fresh broccoli and a ton of jasmine rice. During the unboxing alone, it was evident that Gobble values quantity and quality.
The four balls of cookie dough that came with my meal, not that I had any room left in my stomach after the meal to come.
A second dessert stomach is a thing, right? Another thing to note was the smaller, more compact recipe cards. While they are so much easier to save and store in a kitchen drawer than full-sized pieces of paper, they are also a bit more cramped in terms of directions and information.
The total time for my medium-rare meal came out to 29 minutes and 33 seconds, prep work included. For a full steak dinner that yielded enough for two portions and leftovers of the polenta and veggies, this is the kit for hungry families who want to spend some quality time together in the kitchen.
Though I am a carnivore through and through, I found that Purple Carrot is a great introduction to vegan eating. When choosing a meal to cook, I knew I wanted something that I loved already in its original meaty form, made vegan, to really put the box to the test. After I had chopped everything down to size and foraged for my mushroom heads well, I picked them apart from the woody stems, but it sure felt like foraging , 15 minutes had already ticked by.
The rest of the cook was pretty straightforward, used minimal dishes, and came out almost exactly like the photo, albeit a bit more soupy of a sauce. Did this vegan dupe stand up to comforting chicken and dumplings?
Another pro: everything was included in the box except salt, pepper, and oil, as they made sure to package vegan butter, flour, baking soda, and thyme into pre-measured baggies.
For those who do want to eat plant-based for all three meals of the day and then some, the site does offer a lot of different options, changed up every week.
On the site now, curate your box with eight different dinner options, two breakfasts, two lunches and six different snacks from an array of vegan companies.
Instead, expect a trifecta of support, with meals, coaching, and tracking, too. Trifecta is indeed a meal kit company, meaning you can simply order the meals to arrive at your home, fresh and pre-packaged, sent to your door on ice to then be reheated in the microwave or oven.
However, for those who want a whole-body and mind experience when it comes to healthy eating and lifestyle, you can add a lot more from Trifecta. Back to the food at hand — and in fridge — there are a variety of options to choose from when selecting your meal plan.
When receiving my box, I loved that all of the items were packaged with the meals clearly labeled, helping me choose which I wanted to eat now and stick in the fridge and which I wanted to freeze for later — you can freeze the meals for up to three months in the freezer, or leave them for up to seven days in the fridge.
To really put the flavors and textures to the test, I used the microwave, and to my delight, the rice was cooked to perfection, the sausages were left juicy, and the packaging was cool enough to touch.
One note: since these meals are in sustainable packaging, the bottom may get soggy, so it is advised to use a plate underneath. Otherwise, the meals provided enough food for a full meal maybe add fresh fruit on the side and made me feel more energized than if I had grabbed a different freezer meal from the grocery store.
Clean eating has never been easier, with Sakara Life calling the shots for every meal of the day. The plant-based and nutrition-focused meal delivery service is one that can really revamp the way you eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.
The meals each come in a take-out style container, with a sticker indicating when I should eat the meal right down to the time and day of the week. The best part for me was the portability and ease of the whole thing, especially as someone who skips breakfast or opts for a muffin when running late.
While heating my dinner bowl, a Sakara burger with chili cashew creme, I decided to browse the site to see what sort of plans they offered. For those who want to try out a weekly meal plan but are a bit timid, they do have a one-week trial to test the waters.
If you like it, you can set up a recurring subscription and have Sakara Life meals all week long. Bonus points for being super customizable, as some may want just a few days a week and others an entire fridge of pre-planned meals for their three squares.
With my burger bowl, after incorporating the cashew creme and the other garlicky dressing, I do have to say that while not a burger in my meat-eating eyes, this was one of the best salads I have had — ever.
Even though this bowl was shipped to my door, everything was crunchy and fresh, with no wilted leaves in sight. As someone who spends far too much money at Sweetgreen only to find myself hungry again, finding filling and yummy salads and bowls that I can bring into the office can be a challenge.
This is where I think Territory Foods fits in nicely. They are also all made without gluten or dairy, which is super great for those with allergies in the house.
The coolest part for me, though, was when I took a peek at the packaging and the menu, to find out that my options were actually tailored to my region, partnering with local chefs and restaurants to create the weekly menu of over 35 rotating options.
My Ginger Garlic Chicken Salad was not only ready-to-eat and delicious but was also made by Chef Rachelle Slotnick of Chantilly, VA.
Also, a nod to the packaging, the removable slip contains the calories, protein, fat, and carbs of each meal, should you be tracking yours, as well as the eat-by date and the warming instructions if needed on the back. The last thing that really sets Territory Foods apart is the pricing plan structure.
When setting up my account, the first thing to make note of was just how many options for breakfast, lunch and dinner there are. In unboxing, one quick thing to remember is that there is dry ice that comes on top of your order, so make sure to have an adult unpack and dispose of the ice.
As for the meals, the smoothies and wellness shots can be thawed in the fridge or enjoyed as an icy treat. I chose the latter for my mango guava smoothie due to my impatience, and it was a refreshing option that I sipped on during this whole review, and eventually melted into a drinkable smoothie.
The wellness shots are more like a few sips, but great as an ice cube or a liquid — up to you. The soups, however, should be reheated, in my opinion, and can be warmed in the microwave, as the bowls they come in are micro-safe and BPA-free.
Can I hear it for no dishes? Full transparency, we had our very own Matt Levy help with this review, or, more specifically, his toddler did the hard work.
While the little one munched, mom and dad also took some bites, deeming the Nurture Life foods parent approved, should there be leftovers when your kiddo is done.
These are chopped up small to prevent choking, and come in a variety of flavors to expose your tike to new flavors and textures. The meal service is great for those parents who are sick of sharing off their own plates as well, as the Nurture Life meals let your kid have their very own plate of yummy food, and a great option for those who need some more variety in their weekly kid-approved cooking rotation.
Starting from the way the package arrived — hand-delivered in a reusable tote, layered with ice to keep the food fresh — the whole CookUnity experience was restaurant-level without ever leaving home. I was also sent a text to track my order, letting me know an hour in advance so I could be prepared.
The food arrived in great shape, with no foggy plastic coverings or soggy cardboard to be found. The only downside to the meals is that they are single-serve, as I would have loved left overs or to be able to serve to a family or crowd — oh, well, more meals for me!
Senior food pantries let you shop for free groceries. · Home food delivery is available from food banks, food pantries, or your local Meals on Wheels program Food Distribution & Emergency Assistance; Commodity Supplemental Food Program. Serving Seniors with a Monthly Food Package. The Commodity Supplemental Food Get food delivered directly to your door! Apply. Full Cart® is a program of the nonprofit U.S. Hunger. Through our virtual food bank, we partner with
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