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Getting fresh groceries, household items, food and supplies can be a little challenging these days. Especially if you are under self-isolation and you cannot make it to the store yourself.
If you've just returned to Canada from travelling abroad, the government is asking you to self-isolate for at least 14 days. However, you may be voluntarily doing self-isolation to help flatten the curve. Either way, you still need to eat!
Here are the best ways for Canadians to get food and supplies delivered to your door, so you don't even have to leave the house.
Restaurant and Meal Delivery Apps:
Depending on your exact city in Canada, one of the following 3 restaurant delivery apps should be available to bring meals directly to your door.
Tip: If for some reason your city doesn’t have one of these 3 restaurant delivery apps yet, go old school and call your favorite restaurant directly! They might have their own delivery driver who can bring meals to your door.
Grocery and Supply Delivery Apps:
These following apps are like Uber, but just for grocery delivery.
You download the app, put in your postal code, and then you are given a list of stores you can ‘shop' at digitally. A personal instacart shopper will then go to the store for you and hand-pick all of the items you put on your list. After they are finished the shop, they drive the items out to your house and put them on your doorstep.
Some big stores that are Instacart/InABuggy partners are: Superstore, Staples, Shoppers, Walmart, M&M Meats, Loblaws, etc.
These 2 apps also offer same day delivery, and in come cases, as fast as 1 hour!
Tip: You can send groceries to friends and family with Instacart, even if they are across the country. It's a great way to send groceries to elderly parents that don't understand how to use the apps.
Grocery and Supply Delivery Sites:
If you are looking for some groceries to be delivered to the house, the following 4 sites will offer the most variety and the most availability.
These sites are also great places to get supplies like makeup, cleaning products, vitamins, or even things like books or batteries.
Vegan / Keto / Paleo/ Organic Food Delivery:
These sites have the best selection of vegan, keto, gluten free, paleo, whole-30, organic, and health foods in Canada. They all deliver across the country and many of them offer free delivery for orders over a certain amount.
Just because you are self-isolating doesn’t mean you have to give up all your favorite specialty foods!
I personally use Well.ca and NaturaMarket all the time. My latest haul from Natura was full of sugar free chocolate, paleo (no eggs needed) pancake batter, almond butter, rice made from vegetables, and cauliflower/lentil pasta. Awesome healthy options!
Meal Kit Delivery in Canada:
If you have never seen these meal kit services yet, let me explain what they are. Essentially you receive a box full of raw ingredients, a recipe card, and step-by-step instructions on how to cook it. It's like ‘cooking-for-dummies'.
They will cost more per meal than if you just get your own groceries, but you get the benefit of brand new meal ideas and variety.
The following 3 meal kit delivery companies deliver to most parts of Canada and they can leave the box at your front door. Fresh ingredients are kept cool with reusable ice packs.
Local Grocery Stores and Shops That Deliver
Canada is a big country and there are MANY local grocery stores, shops, and meal prep delivery services that only deliver in your specific area. The best way to find them is to google terms like:
“Your City” + Meal Prep Delivery
“Your City” + Grocery Delivery
“Your City” + “Your Grocery Store” + Delivery
You will find a whole new world of delivery options, especially if you live in big city centres like Toronto or Vancouver.
Specific Foods or Items
If you have a specific brand of food item you are looking for, try searching for the Brand’s official website and see if they deliver their own product.
For example: Fatso Peanut Butter
Fatso is a natural Canadian peanut butter brand that sells and delivers their own product on their website EatFatso.com
Curb-Side Pick-Up
Many Canadian grocery stores have also added curb-side pick-up to their delivery options.
If you are under self-isolation because you returned from travelling, or you just don't want to go inside the store, curb-side pick-up is a perfect idea.
Here's how it works:
You create an account, add groceries to your virtual cart, and then choose a pick-up time/date slot. The grocery store will then email you the number of the parking stall to pull in during your pickup time/date slot. Let's say it's parking stall #2. You simply pull into stall #2 and an employee brings out a buggy full of your groceries and loads it into your car.
Canadian grocery stores with curb-side pick-up:
- Superstore
- Zehrs
- Loblaws
- Save On Foods
There may be others depending on your city/province. Try Googling your local grocery store to see if they offer curb-side pick-up.
Ask A Friend
These are challenging times and we can't get through them alone. If you are at home and can't seem to figure out any way to get food delivered, reach out and ask a friend, family member, or neighbour if they can help.
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Many other Canadians are also looking for food and supplies during these hard times, so please send this article to anyone else who might need some guidance or help.
