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Ordering in can cost you heavily.

By Younas Chaudhary

Food delivery more than doubled in the US during the COVID-19 pandemic and is now a $150 billion dollar market worldwide, according to a McKinsey & Company report. Ordering in ready to eat food brings convenience to our couches as we find less time to think of our health or cook at home.

Younas Chaudhary

In the past, getting a pizza delivered was reserved for special occasions at home but now our evenings are preoccupied with choosing between DoorDash, Grub Hub, Postmates, or Uber Eats. Ordering food through user-friendly apps has become the norm for millions of people.

I used Instacart during COVID but was disappointed when they delivered bananas that were too ripe or vegetables that became squishy. Seeing and feeling the produce at the store is so different from having it delivered to your doorstep at a premium. It’s easy to say yes to an app or click submit on an online form but the delivery fees, service charges, and tips can create a big dent in your savings especially during today’s inflation.

The urge for convenience and quick solutions has crept into every facet of our lives. We forget how much it costs to deliver a coffee to our door when we could make the same for 50 cents or less at home! With most people having a car, I wonder why so many rely on Door Dash or Uber Eats to deliver food to their doorstep!

Sitting at home, ordering food, and binge-watching shows on a television, laptop, or phone seriously hampers our health and we will eventually become socially unfit. According to recent findings from an 85-year-long Harvard study of adult life, researcher Robert Haldinger discovered that being stressed and lonely can seriously affect your health.

Instead of building healthy relationships, we rely on artificial intelligence to match us with our favored indulgences and this convenience can ruin our lives. Here’s why I fervently oppose delivery of food at home except during emergencies:

  1. The use of food delivery apps prompts impulsive buying and we often forget that delivery fees, service charges, and tips add up.
  2. The choices are limited and often the cheaper food items are the unhealthiest ones.
  3. Nearly 30% of drivers admit to snacking on your food according to a US Foods Study!
  4. Ordering coffee and fast food daily to your door can be habit forming and addictive.
  5. If you are a loner, you can become lonelier. Instead, a trip to the grocery store can refresh your mind.
  6. Without cooking fresh, homemade food you become addicted to food laden with added fat, sugar, salt, and preservatives.
  7. Any app that you use has already invaded your privacy. From the store to your doorstep and beyond, your precious personal data is being continuously collected.

From my young age, I was taught to value and respect home-made food and pour only what I could eat on a plate. Never waste food. Stay blessed!

Disclaimer

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article are my own and do not represent the opinions of any entity with which I have been, am now, or will be affiliated. Further, I make no warranty regarding the accuracy or effectiveness of my recommendations, and readers are advised to consult other advisors as well as their own judgments in making business decisions.

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