Instacart’s New Ready Meals Hub Delivers Prepared Meals to Your Door in Less Than 30 Minutes

Cheryl Fenton
Cheryl Fenton
An editor once called her “the kitchen sink writer." Translation - Boston-based freelancer Cheryl Fenton can write about anything, including the kitchen sink (peep her interior design pieces). Her bylines run the gamut from dailies like USAToday and the Boston Globe to monthly pubs including Whole Foods, Women's Health & Fitness, and Cooking Light to book covers (there's a travel guide for Fodor's with her name on it and a fitness read she wrote with Tamilee Webb of Buns of Steel fame).
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published Jan 20, 2022
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Credit: Instacart

If there was one service that took on a new role during the pandemic, it was food delivery. We’re not just talking about restaurant takeout or a quick call for a pizza. We mean the stock-your-pantry, fill-your-fridge type of grocery delivery. Stuck in our houses for longer periods of time, services like Instacart gave us access to all the things (even toilet paper) without stepping outside.  

Growing to over 9.6 million users in 2020, today’s Instacart has morphed from a necessity during the COVID-19 lockdown to a convenience that most of us aren’t ready to part with just yet. And they aren’t making it easy to quit them. 

On January 13, North America’s leading online grocery platform stepped up their game with an alternative to restaurant takeout. Instacart has unveiled a new Ready Meals Hub on the Instacart Marketplace. Think ready-to-eat and ready-to-heat items delivered to your door in under 30 minutes.

Whether you’re in need of a quick lunch in between meetings or a nourishing dinner after a long day, customers across 35 states can now access the Ready Meals Hub to quickly get prepared meals — including fresh sushi, rotisserie chicken, salads, soups, sandwiches, and more — delivered from more than 4,100 grocery stores. You’re sure to find your favorite grocer on the list, with giants such as Publix, GIANT, Food Lion, Hannaford, Stop & Shop, Martin’s, and Kroger participating. 

Want your favorite spicy shrimp roll from Kroger or perhaps a creamy tomato soup from Publix? Craving Stop & Shop’s apple walnut chicken salad or pork roast Cuban sandwich? The new Ready Meals Hub proves that there’s an app for that. For less than $10, you can order hundreds of meals via the new Instacart App. And if you forgot a few items during your last grocery run, Instacart has your back, allowing you to add a handful of grocery staples or household items into the same order. 

“With our new Ready Meals Hub, we’re dishing up inspiring, more affordable, and nutritious food alternatives to restaurant delivery that make it easier for consumers to break up with takeout this year,” said Instacart Head of Product Daniel Danker in a press release. “From fresh soups and salads for a quick lunch to take-and-bake casseroles, pasta dishes, and meat and seafood entrees for the family dinner … we’re creating new ways to give busy people and families across the U.S. more ways to shop smart, eat healthy and feed their cravings faster than ever before.”