How Meal Delivery Services Are Helping People in Times of COVID

With a lot of people stuck at home and unable to go outside due to COVID-19, shopping for groceries or food has become even harder. There are real fears about contact with people who may be sick so a lot of people are opting for meal delivery services. The demand for meal delivery services has exploded over the past year and meal delivery services have responded in different ways. In this article, we are going to look at how these delivery services are helping those who are stuck at home as well as those who rely on them in different ways in these trying times.

Reducing Contact

One of the main ways through which COVID spreads is through contact with infected people or things (surfaces, physical money, etc.). Delivery services have removed the need for people to go out to shop for what they need which in turn has reduced contact between people. This has helped keep people safe as they receive their groceries and meals from the comfort of their homes.

Delivery services have also introduced contactless payment methods. These payment methods eliminate physical contact between the customer and the driver or the person making the delivery. This has also significantly reduced the risk of spreading the virus as well as infections.

Helping People Stay Healthy

After staying home for months, with little to no physical activity, a lot of people have started being more conscious about what they eat. Meal delivery services have noticed an increase in the demand for healthy meals and they have responded appropriately. Health-driven meal delivery services like Splendid Spoon now offer healthy, wholesome, nutritious and natural foods to their customers, thereby helping them eat and remain healthy through this pandemic.

Ensuring Employment Now and in the Future

With the increase in the demand for meal delivery services, the businesses behind these services have increased the number of drivers and delivery persons who work for them. This has opened up opportunities for those who may have been or become unemployed otherwise.

In addition to the drivers, these services have also created additional jobs for software development companies that are tasked with the development and maintenance of the apps these services used. This is perhaps one of the reasons why software development jobs have seen a sharp increase over the past year.

Restaurants and eateries that did not adapt had to close their doors due to lower foot traffic, some after decades of serving their customers. Also, businesses that did not downsize and started using meal delivery services were left with huge overhead costs that could not be paid off due to a reduced number of customers.

These closures led to a loss of jobs for a lot of people and, with many of these restaurants and eateries not planning to open their doors again, there is no guarantee that the people who worked in them will get employment.

However, those that did adapt and start meal delivery services have not only ensured employment for people during the pandemic, they have also ensured employment in the future for current employees. They have also ensured employment for future employees once things start getting back to normal.

They are Helping Alleviate Anxiety

A lot of people do not realize that there are those who have a deep-seated fear of food shortages. This breeds a lot of anxiety which is not welcome considering how much pressure and stress people are already under. There is a clear psychological benefit to having options like food delivery. This psychological benefit is especially important when you consider the psychological effects of social distancing, lockdowns and quarantines. Anything that is going to remove some of the edge even if it is as simple as food delivery, is always welcome.

They are Helping Save Time

Although it may seem like a lot of people have a lot of time because they are at home more, that is not always the case. There are those who are working from home, taking care of loved ones or ensuring their kids continue attending their online classes.

Meal delivery services save people a lot of time because they eliminate the need to take time to plan meals, shop for what they need, prepare the meals and cook them. Using meal delivery services, people can receive prepared or even cooked meals which leaves them with a lot more time to concentrate on what may be important to them, be it school, work or the kids.

Though no one is sure when things will go back to normal, it is clear that meal delivery services are helping different people in different ways. Many restaurants and eateries have discovered that this is a great way to continue serving their customers in these uncertain times while providing employment to those who might not have other opportunities. It is likely that restaurants and eateries will continue to offer meal delivery services when COVID is over to meet new customer expectations, and this will be a good thing for everyone involved.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinoins of the edtiors or the management of EconoTimes