Groceries - Delivery & Pick Up Services

Our Whole Foods Order via Amazon

😷 Prior to the national emergency, I used several pick up and delivery services for groceries. Now many of these services are bombarded by new customers who want to use the service temporarily during this crisis. Some of them are unable to keep up with demand. This is changing weekly. We use Publix Pick Up via Instacart during the holidays when we can't stand the crowds and then recently due to the health crisis. In the last couple of weeks, I haven't been able to get everything I've ordered. We've used Walmart Grocery Pick up several times in the last four years but this last time I had a hard time getting a pickup time slot and now there are none left. An employee told us that they went from 300 slots each day down to 60 since their inventory is so low. He says to try around midnight when more slots open. I also checked Harris Teeter Pick Up and they don't have any time slots left through Sunday. Some stores are limiting quantities to 2 even on non-popular items. Note that many meal kit subscription boxes have stopped offering new customer discounts since they have more customers than they can handle at this time. I've provided coupon links below, but keep that in mind.  If you can't find dog or cat food, try home cooking. Note that meal kits need to be ordered at least a week in advance and most have four weeks of menus to choose from. New menus are usually released on Friday. Some meal kits are selling out early, so order quickly. Here's a list of services to try.

Delivery & Pick-Up

• Instacart - pick up in the parking lot at stores including Publix, Wegmans, Food Lion (few locations), The Fresh Market. Delivery from Publix, Aldi, Food Lion, Total Wine & More, Costco, CVS, Petco, Lowe's Foods and BJ's Wholesale Club. These are for the Raleigh area, stores based on your location.
• Walmart - Pick Up (limited time slots during the crisis)
• Target - Drive Up
• Whole Foods via Amazon -  Prime Membership required, $12.99 a month 
• Harris Teeter - ExpressLane $4.95 for Pick Up & $9.95 for Delivery
• Lowes Foods - delivery nearby or pickup
• Costco - delivery nearby within 5 hours $35 minimum or 2 day shipping, most inventory is sold out, membership required 
• Shipt - $99 year or $14.00 a month, $35+ orders no additional fee, same day delivery
• Boxed - $49+ ship free
• QVC - all of the food is shipped with dry ice, free shipping, favorites are Perfect Gourmet, Smithfield, and Authentic Gourmet

Meal Kits Shipped

• Hello Fresh - dinner, lunch, snacks, protein, bread, cookies
• Green Chef - dinner, choice of Paleo, Keto, Balanced Living, Plant-Powered & Family
• Home Chef - dinner, lunch, smoothies, protein, selling out of some meals
• Every Plate - dinner, less expensive version of Hello Fresh
• Blue Apron - dinner, currently overloaded by new customers having issues
• Daily Harvest - smoothies, soups, harvest bowls, lattes, chia bowls, and oat bowls
• Oat Box - oatmeal, granola & breakfast bars
• Revive Organics - smoothies, oats, açai bowls, and super meals
• Sun Basket - no longer recommend for hot areas, not enough ice packs, huge selection
• Imperfect Foods - discounted produce, dairy & pantry items

Restaurant Food Delivered

• Krispy Kreme - delivery or pick up
• Uber Eats - not in rural areas and delivery fee based on distance
• Door Dash - free delivery
• Grub Hub - delivery fees
• Postmates - not in rural areas, only major cities, delivery fees vary

Many of these companies have apps for ordering on the go. Many restaurants offer delivery themselves during this crisis, call your local favorite restaurants and ask. Support your favorites during this difficult time! I recommend Instacart, Walmart Pick-Up, and Whole Foods via Amazon. All of the Meal Kits listed above I recommend, my current favorite is Hello Fresh. I've recently been ordering from Green Chef, Home Chef, Every Plate, Blue Apron, Daily Harvest, Imperfect Foods, Oat Box and Revive Organics. Reviews are on this blog. I'm not familiar with the restaurant food delivery services since they don't offer service in my area. 

Tipping is highly recommended for delivery services. It's recommended to tip 10-20% of the total order for groceries based on the size of the order, difficulty, and the distance traveled. Delivery fees are separate since the delivery fees go to the service, not the employee. A 20% tip is recommended for restaurant food delivery.

Remember to wash your hands after opening the cardboard delivery boxes and then disinfect food packages with a disinfectant cloth. Then wash your hands again. The virus can live on surfaces from 24 hours (cardboard) to as long as 9 days (stainless steel) depending on the surface. 

If you aren't interested in delivery or pickup you'll find some rural stores have more stock on hand. Some smaller stores may also have more stock. Try smaller stores like Aldi and the Dollar Store for hard to find items. Toilet paper is in stock at Vitacost. Alternatives are baby wipes and flushable wipes, just don't flush them. For hand sanitizer, place rubbing alcohol (60%+) in a spray bottle. Be sure to moisturize. Your local butcher shops may have plenty of meat and chicken. Some stores offer senior-only shopping for their first hour open. Stores are changing their hours, so be sure to check on them prior to driving to the store. Remember to wear a mask. 😷 

Wishing you health, wealth, and happiness during these trying times. Prayers for the world.

Have a PEACEful Day!

#RewardedByQVC