Nearly half the world’s
population is on lockdown as the Covid-19 pandemic rages
on. Most countries on lockdown have restricted movement except for workers
providing essential services in food, healthcare, delivery, etc.
As lockdowns extend and the fear of
contracting the virus keeps more people indoors, grocery and food shopping will
be put on hold.
Luckily, there are food and grocery delivery services that will help you stay indoors while supplying you with delicious necessities. Here are some of them:
Farmstead
Farmstead is a US-based grocery delivery service based in California. They offer
locally sourced produce and other essential groceries to customers in the San
Francisco, San Mateo and San Jose areas.
Farmstead is delivering fresh food and other groceries to customers amidst the lockdown in California. The company is hiring more workers to deal with demand and is being transparent with customers about delivery delays.
Ollca
Ollca is a French grocery delivery company that connects local stores with
online customers. Customers can order fresh produce and other essentials on the
platform from local grocers and farms. Customers have the option of picking up
or having their items delivered.
Ollca’s coverage extends to many cities in France. During this pandemic, Ollca is staying open with a slight change. All orders made on their platform have their delivery delayed by a day.
HelloFresh
HelloFresh is a subscription-based meal kit
delivery service that operates in Austria,
Belgium,
Canada, France,
Germany, Luxembourg,
Netherlands, Switzerland, USA and the UK. Every week, customers get
different recipes delivered to their doorstep containing carefully measured
portions designed to feed 2-4 people.
HelloFresh is actively delivering in its various countries of operation.
Glovo
Glovo is a lifestyle delivery service with a large food and grocery
department that operates in 20 countries including Spain, Italy, Portugal,
Ukraine, Romania, Ecuador, Peru, Morocco and Colombia.
Glovo is open in all the markets it operates in and has introduced contactless delivery for its customers.
Instacart
Instacart is a grocery delivery and pickup service that operates in Canada and
the US. Customers make orders and Instacart shoppers do the now perilous job of
shopping with both a delivery and pickup option available in its delivery
range.
Instacart is still in operation during this crisis. The company recently introduced “fast & flexible” and order ahead options to handle the demand during this pandemic.
Zomato
Zomato is a food delivery service that operates in 24 countries including
India, Sri Lanka, the US, UK, Indonesia, South Africa and more. It works by
aggregating restaurants in different cities for customers to order from. Users
can rate the restaurants in the app and provide reviews.
While Zomato is still in operation, it is operating at a reduced capacity because of lockdowns in many of the countries it operates in.
Postmates
Postmates is a lifestyle delivery service that operates in the US. Customers can
order already made food from restaurants or groceries and have them delivered
directly. This service is available in nearly 3000 cities in the US.
Postmates is still serving customers and has introduced contactless delivery among other measures to handle delivery during this pandemic.
Eleme
Eleme is a food delivery service operating in China. It offers online to offline takeaways for its customers. It was acquired by the ecommerce giant Alibaba, in 2018. Eleme is still operating and all orders have to be made via their app.
WholeFoods
Deliveroo
Deliveroo is an online food delivery service that operates in the United
Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Australia,
Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, and Kuwait.
Deliveroo is still operating and has contactless delivery options for its customers. In the UK, the company is offering vouchers to healthcare workers on its platform.
Daojia
Daojia is a Chinese food delivery service. Customers can order from restaurants through Daojia’s website, mobile app and call center. The company has remained open through the current crisis.
Delivery Hero
Delivery Hero is an online food delivery marketplace with operations in 44 countries spread across Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. The company has over 500,000 restaurants in its network and is still delivering food to customers stuck at home.
Walmart Grocery
Walmart Grocery is the online grocery ordering platform for brick and mortar retailer Walmart. It operates in the US, Canada, Mexico and several other countries under different names. Its online ordering platform has both pickup and delivery options for customers. Walmart is open during this pandemic.
Swiggy
Swiggy is an online food delivery service that operates in 100 cities in India. Customers can order food from restaurants near them through their app or website. Swiggy is open and serving its customers in lockdown.
UberEats
Uber Eats is a food delivery service operated by ride hailing company, Uber. The service is available in cities in North America, South America, New Zealand, Australia, Europe and parts of Africa. Uber Eats is still in operation in different cities despite widespread lockdowns.
Mosaic Foods
Mosaic Foods is a meal delivery service from the US offering healthy and nutritious plant-based meals. Their food is hand-made, packed with natural, mindfully-sourced ingredients, and delivered sustainably by using 100{1652eb1ffa4184925f6a63a9c04ea6b421acb7a78117241e7d4325cdca8339fa} recyclable materials on their packaging.
Handling Delivered Items
One major concern many people have with ordering food and groceries is transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through those delivered items. With reports that the novel coronavirus can live on different surfaces for a while, you are right to worry.
You can take precautions to reduce your risk of contracting the virus from delivered items. Apply the CDC’s recommendations on disinfecting regularly touched items like doorknobs and light switches to items you receive via delivery or pickup. Disinfect groceries, change your clothes after grocery runs and wash your hands afterward. Taking precautions will reduce your risk of catching the virus.
Conclusion
The world is in a precarious position and these delivery and food services will make things easier as everyone stays home to flatten the curve.
