Excerpt from The New York Times:
So, are these food start-ups good for the home, or yet another setback for the traditional nuclear family?
Lynn Barendsen, executive director of the Family Dinner Project, a group with ties to the Harvard Graduate School of Education that promotes the benefits of home cooking, said it depends entirely on which services you use, who you are, and what you did before these companies came along.
If your family eats pizza every night in front of the TV or laptop, a meal from Gobble or one of its competitors is a much better alternative, Ms. Barendsen said. But if you’re teaching your children about cooking and where food comes from, then you’re depriving them of the full home-cook experience.
“Dinnertime has to do with the prep time and taking your kids to the grocery store,” she said. “It’s the time in the kitchen and it’s also the time afterwards, cleaning up together.”
For low-income families who are eating dinner from a drive-through every night, Ms. Barendsen added, these start-ups are probably no help. Gobble costs $12 to $14 for each meal. Plated charges $12 a plate and Blue Apron is $10 a person.
Ms. Barendsen said the Family Dinner Project is trying to teach low-income families to make dinner for an entire family for less than $20.
