I love participating in sampling new products. Every once in a while though, we come across something that I shake my head and pass on. The most recent product came in my PINCHme box. They are pushing the Hello Fresh option. While I'm all for saving money on feeding my crew, or finding simpler recipes that are fully put together and don't require me to go shopping, I am not seeing the benefit for our family of 6 on this one.
What is Hello Fresh?
It is an automated payment system where you are subscribing to a weekly delivery of boxes containing food. Each meal is planned out for the amount of people included.
Here is what we have learned....
So the first thing we had to figure out were the prices and overall payment for the amount of time the deal was for. The one I was sent was for 6 weeks. In that 6 weeks, it would include meals for 4 people (problem #1 for us, since we have 6 family members). There would be 3 meals per week for those 4 people. So that is 12 meals. And over the 6 week period that leads us to 72 meals. First part of the math is done.
Now the pricing fun.
You really have to pay attention here. When they say you are getting a bunch of free meals, in my case - 17 free meals, they break it up. Here is the break down for you according the fine print on the card they sent me....
First week is half off with free shipping.
Week 2 is 35% off plus $9.99 for shipping.
Week 3 is 20% off plus $9.99 for shipping.
Week 4 and 5 is 14% off plus $9.99 for shipping each week.
Week 6 is only 5% off plus $9.99 for shipping.
That comes out to a total of $516. 47! For a total of 72 meals. With then translates to $7.17 per meal. Not bad if you are going by price per meal I suppose. Cheaper than eating out. However, for a family of 6, it is not even an option on their website. You can only choose 2 or 4 person plans.
Any benefits?
Not for us. But I suppose I would have to concede that if you are a couple who have busy schedules, or are open to multiple options and not just going by a meat and veggie option, then maybe you could make that work? Prices in the grocery stores have been a tremendous burden for a good deal of people. My own family is eating a lot of sandwiches and ramen lately. At the same time, we did the math. Roughly $200 allows me to make those 72 meals. They may not be fancy meals, but they fill my teenage boys. Depending on what the serving sizes look like, my giant sons probably wouldn't fill up on them.
What about you? Would something like this be cheaper than your current food bill? Tell me about it in the comments below. I'd love to know who this would work for.
