Meal Delivery Service Research Articles

HEALTH STATUS AND DIETARY PATTERNS IN POLAND

The main goal of this paper is to evaluate the health status of Poles in the context of their dietary patterns. Results of a desk research study on dietary habits of persons working during the coronavirus pandemic and attitudes of Poles towards meal delivery services provided to the authors by external research institutions were utilized for the purpose of the article. In the framework of practical scientific cooperation, the following reports containing results of research on dietary patterns of people working during the pandemic have been made available for the purpose of this study: “Healthy, speedy or conveniently?” and “Healthy eating”. The results were used with retain of copyright and ethical principles. Data analysis led to the conclusion that people have tended to pay more attention to the food intake as well as spend more time on self-preparation of meals during the pandemic. Based on analysis of the study results, a thesis was formulated that during a pandemic, we pay more attention to what we eat, and we also spend more time preparing meals on our own. Assuming that the population of Poland in 2020 was 38,265 thousand people, it could be stated in the light of the study results that almost 650 thousand Poles were on a well-balanced diet adapted to individual consumer needs.

High-Speed Railway Meal Delivery Service: A Stochastic Scheduling Perspective

High-Speed Railway Meal Delivery Service: A Stochastic Scheduling Perspective

In These Uncertain Times: Fake News Amplifies the Desires to Save and Spend in Response to COVID-19

COVID-19 is changing human history. However, it arrived on the heels of another crisis: fake news. We examine how fake news influences consumers’ spending intentions in response to COVID-19. Across three studies we find that concerns about COVID-19 engender uncertainty, and that exposure to fake news amplifies this effect. This uncertainty increases consumers’ tendency toward two competing goals: compensatory consumption and resource conservation. We present three studies in which we measure consumers’ general preferences (study 1), their specific preferences with respect to buying food at a restaurant (study 2), and their choices when selecting from a meal delivery service (study 3). Our findings have important implications for both marketing practitioners and policy makers, which we discuss throughout.

Looking Back and Looking Forward: (Re)Interpreting Consumer Insights in a Time of Transition

Looking Back and Looking Forward: (Re)Interpreting Consumer Insights in a Time of Transition

ONLINE MEAL ORDERING SERVICE QUALITY AND DELIVERY SPEED: OPPORTUNITIES FOR RESTAURANT OPERATORS?

This study examines the importance customers attach to online meal service quality and delivery speed using data collected in 2017. The structured questionnaire probed for views on meal delivery services and socio-demographic information. The respondents participating in the survey were located in cities across 29 provinces in China. Ordered logit technique estimated equations for modeling service quality and delivery speed importance. Average meal price and food safety expectations were important to consumer perception of service quality, while payment convenience, ordered meal type, and delivery courier logo mattered to perception of delivery speed. Online order business managers should pay attention to orders with above average value, those with multiple, varied dishes, and deliveries to college dormitories. Customers ordering traditional Chinese dishes attach importance to delivery speed in contrast to those ordering barbecue. Courier appearance and display of health badges are also associated with importance attached to delivery speed.

Land Consumption of Delivery Robots and Bicycle Couriers for On-Demand Meal Delivery Using GPS Data and Simulations Based on the Time-Area Concept

Regulating the curbside usage of delivery vehicles and ride-hailing services as well as micromobility has been a challenge in the last years, a challenge which might worsen with the increase of autonomous vehicles. The contribution of the research outlined in this paper is an evaluation method of the land use of on-demand meal delivery services such as Deliveroo and UberEats. It evaluates the effect parking policies, operating strategy changes, and scheduling options have on the land consumption of bicycle couriers and sidewalk automated delivery robots (SADRs). Various operating strategies (i.e., shared fleets and fleets operated by restaurants), parking policies (i.e., parking at the restaurant, parking at the customer or no parking) and scheduling options (i.e., one meal per vehicle, multiple meals per vehicle) are simulated and applied to New York City (NYC). Additionally, the time-area requirements of on-demand meal delivery services are calculated based on GPS traces of Deliveroo and UberEats riders in two UK cities. The simulation in the paper shows that SADRs can reduce the time-area requirements by half compared with bicycle couriers. The effect of operating strategy changes and forbidding vehicles to park at the customer’s home is small. Delivering multiple meals in one tour halves the time-area requirements. The time-area requirements based on GPS traces is around 300 m2·min per order. The study allows policymakers to learn more about the land use of on-demand meal delivery services and how these can be influenced. Hence, they can adjust their policy strategies to ensure that on-demand meal delivery services are provided in a way that they use land effectively, reduce external costs, improve sustainability and benefit everyone.

A Study on the Operational Efficiency of Online Food Delivery Executives

India's online food sector will have grown to a $8 billion sector due to rapid digitization and an increase in both online buyer base and spending. Individuals can order and receive food products at their doorstep via online meal delivery services. It includes going to the website or app, choosing from a large range of cuisines, and paying using various methods. The user is informed about the expected time for food preparation and delivery via the website/application and food delivery platforms in India provide lucrative jobs to the unemployed youth, which does not require any special educational qualifications just armed with a smart phone and driving license. The objective of the study is to understand the socio demographic profile of delivery executives and the issues they encounter identify training needs based on the issues they experience and assess the effectiveness of the training programme and its influence on operational metrics

Less Can Be More

My six-year-old son has a stubborn palate. Attempting to diversify his diet, my partner and I have tried it all. We've coated veggies in cheese, filled each compartment of his lunchtime bento boxes with intriguing flavors (freeze-dried strawberries!), and involved him in meal prep. We've subscribed to kid-friendly meal-delivery services, watched cooking shows together, and pointed out “your little sister's eating it.” No luck. Even if you don't have a picky eater in the house, you've encountered this situation before. When you want to improve something—whether it's a kid's diet, your own parenting, or the design of a room—you think about how to change things from the way they are to the way you want them to be. While people can get very creative in their solutions, my colleagues and I have found that one approach is consistently overlooked: subtraction. We think first about adding, whether it's piling on more options (the bento boxes), more information (the cooking shows), or more motivation (the sister). But in our eagerness to add, we neglect the other way to create change—by taking things away. For instance, removing bread as the default snack presented to my son led to more improvement than all of the additions combined. Now, bananas, rice, and granola have made their way into the regular rotation. With any luck, he will be eating vegetables by the time he turns 10.

Assessing the Effects of Limited Curbside Pickup Capacity in Meal Delivery Operations for Increased Safety during a Pandemic

Meal delivery has become increasingly popular in past years and of great importance in past months during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sustaining such services depends on maintaining provider profitability and reduced cost to consumers while continuing to support autonomy and independence for customers, restaurants, and delivery drivers (here crowdsourced drivers). This paper investigates the possible enactment of curbside regulations in the U.S. that limit the number of drivers simultaneously waiting at restaurants to pick up meals for delivery on both public safety and delivery efficiency. Curbside regulations would aim to increase safety by enabling social distancing between delivery personnel at pickup locations and have a secondary benefit of improving local traffic flows, which are sometimes impeded in busier, urban locations. Curbside space limits are studied in relation to their impacts on consumer-related performance measures: freshness of the food on delivery and click-to-door time. This investigation is enabled through a proposed hybrid discrete-event and time-advanced simulation platform that replicates meal delivery service calls and pickup and delivery operations across a region built on data from a leading meal delivery company. Embedded within the simulation is an integer program that optimally assigns orders to drivers in a dynamically changing environment. Order assignments are constrained by imposed curbside capacity limits at the restaurants, and potential efficiencies and curbside violation reductions from bundling orders are assessed. Results of analyses from numerical experiments provide insights to state and local communities in designing curbside restrictions that reduce curbside crowding yet enable delivery companies to retain their profitability.

Insights Gained From Developing Academic-Community Partnerships for Minority Aging, Community-Engaged Research

Increasingly community-engaged research, characterized by collaborations between researchers and community partners, is recognized as an important part of translating research into improved health outcomes and reduced health disparities for community participants. Training community participants to engage in some or all aspects of this research, particularly focusing on racial and ethnic minority older adults, highlights the need to understand its opportunities and challenges. With this symposium we will discuss and reflect on community-engaged and community-based participatory research approaches to community-academic partnerships with minority older adults. The first presentation addresses recruitment, retention, and training of a community advisory board of older African Americans in Michigan. The second presentation addresses a health education outreach and engagement program to improve health outcomes among older African Americans in California. The third presentation combines community engagement with survey design methods for research with older Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander adults to improve data collection and health outcomes in this U.S. population. The final presentation examines partnerships between a hospital memory clinic, meal delivery service, research university, and low-income health clinic to improve caregiver and dementia patient outcomes for minority older adults. The symposium discussant will address opportunities, challenges, and implications of community-academic partnerships promoting minority aging.

Working With Communities to Support Minority Caregivers: The PRISMA Health REACH Expansion Project

In 2019, the NIH presented the results of its two-year visioning process to advance the science of minority health and health disparities. The PRISMA Health REACH Expansion (PH-REACH E) is an innovative, community-academic partnership between a hospital memory clinic, meal delivery service, research university, and low-income health clinic. The purpose is to: 1) increase the dementia capability of community-based programs, 2) offer caregivers of persons with dementia the REACH intervention, and 3) identify and connect racial minority and/or rural residents with services to promote health and well-being in older adulthood. This presentation will detail the PH-REACH E framework and present program results, which include improved caregiver outcomes (e.g., reduced burden, increased self-efficacy, reduced depression) and enhanced dementia capability (e.g., increased dementia knowledge) of partner organizations. This program illustrates some key recommendations of the NIH – community engagement in intervention adaptation, multisectoral collaboration, and promoting systems-level change to reduce health disparities.

Child welfare policies and services during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea

ABSTRACT Emergency situations render children vulnerable; hence, this study reviewed child-related policies and services in South Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus far, the government has proposed online health promotion programmes for children, emergency care services and allowances, and school meal delivery services. Based on these findings, we recommend the establishment of mental health, sexual abuse, and child abuse online messaging services, allocation of additional financial and educational support to low-income families, and prioritisation of childcare services.

Abstract 14055: Impact of a Boxed Meal Facilitated Plant-based Diet on Cardiometabolic Endpoints: A Clinical Trial

Background: Plant-based diets (PBD) are increasingly recommended to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Boxed meal-delivery services are a growing market facilitating consumer convenience; however, their effects on health require further study. We compared cardiometabolic changes between a boxed meal facilitated PBD (f-PBD) and Standard Omnivorous Diet (f-SOD). Methods: A prospective, controlled, parallel-designed trial assessing the impact of a f-PBD (n=16) to a f-SOD (n=16) on cardiometabolic endpoints was conducted in military beneficiaries. Participants with a BMI >25 kg/m 2 consuming a standard omnivorous diet volunteered to adopt a f-PBD or f-SOD for a 4-week period. Participants had the option to consume breakfast and lunch according to their adopted diet at the military dining facility. Dinner was facilitated by shipping a commercially available plant-based or standard omnivorous boxed meal kit to participants as appropriate. Lipid parameters were monitored at baseline and at 4 weeks. Weight, blood pressure (BP) and other clinical endpoints were assessed weekly. The primary endpoints were change from baseline at 4 weeks in calculated low-density lipoproteins (LDL-c) and weight. A student’s t-test was performed to assess differences between groups using the intention-to-treat methodology. Results: A total of 32 participants were enrolled in the f-PBD and f-SOD groups. Average age of participants was 33.3±7.8 years, BMI was 29.6±3.5 kg/m 2 and 50% were male. Change in LDL-c from baseline in the f-PBD and f-SOD groups were -9.41±21.7 mg/dl and +5.63±15.9 mg/dl, respectively (p=0.033). The change in weight from baseline in the f-PBD and f-SOD groups were -3.82±4.4 pounds and +0.87±2.7 pounds, respectively (p=0.001). Systolic BP decreased non-significantly in the f-PBD group (-4.88±5.4 mmHg vs -0.38±9.2 mmHg for f-PBD and f-SOD, respectively, p=0.103). Conclusion: Incorporating a meal-delivery f-PBD significantly reduced LDL-c and weight over a 4-week period. Plant-based meal kits could serve as a novel dietary intervention in the optimization of cardiovascular disease burden.

Home-delivered between-meal snacks for fragile elderly people

Rationale: Fragile elderly people are at risk of undernutrition when living in their own home despite receiving meal delivery services. Weight loss is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. To reduce the problem home-delivered Between-Meal Snacks (BMS) were tested in a region of Denmark. The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate four physiological outcomes of the intervention before large-scale implementation.

Eating behavior and food purchases during the COVID-19 lockdown: A cross-sectional study among adults in the Netherlands

On March 15, 2020, the Dutch Government implemented COVID-19 lockdown measures. Although self-quarantine and social-distancing measures were implemented, restrictions were less severe compared to several other countries. The aim of this study was to assess changes in eating behavior and food purchases among a representative adult sample in the Netherlands (n = 1030), five weeks into lockdown. The results show that most participants did not change their eating behaviors (83.0%) or food purchases (73.3%). However, socio-demographic differences were observed among those that reported changes during lockdown. For example, participants with overweight (OR = 2.26, 95%CI = 1.24–4.11) and obesity (OR = 4.21, 95%CI = 2.13–8.32) were more likely to indicate to eat unhealthier during lockdown compared to participants with a healthy weight. Those with a high educational level (OR = 2.25, 95%-CI = 1.03–4.93) were also more likely to indicate to eat unhealthier during lockdown compared to those with a low educational level. Older participants were more likely to indicate to experience no differences in their eating behaviors compared to those of younger age, who were more likely to indicate that they ate healthier (OR = 1.03, 95%CI = 1.01–1.04) as well as unhealthier (OR = 1.04, 95%CI = 1.02–1.06) during lockdown. Participants with obesity were more likely to indicate to purchase more chips/snacks (OR = 2.79, 95%CI = 1.43–5.45) and more nonalcoholic beverages (OR = 2.74, 95%CI = 1.36–5.50) during lockdown in comparison with those with a healthy weight. Of those that used meal delivery services before, 174 (29.5%) indicated to use meal delivery services more frequently during lockdown. Although the results confirm the persistence of dietary routines, profound socio-demographic differences were observed for those that did report changes. Especially for individuals with overweight and obesity, the lockdown has taken its toll on healthy dietary choices. Further research should unravel underlying mechanisms for these observations.

Why Does a High Humidity Level Form in Low-Income Households Despite Low Water Vapor Generation?

This study uses long-term field measurements to quantify the indoor humidity generation rates of low-income households vulnerable to condensation and related problems. We found that the mean internal moisture excess of low-income households in Korea was 4.69 g/m3 higher than those of prior studies. Indoor water vapor generation rates of various activities considering the life style of low-income households were also quantified. The moisture generation rates of the shower and bath were 125.3 g/event and 51.1 g/event, respectively, and showed a similar or lower value compared to the existing results. The moisture generation rate of cooking showed the largest difference due to the residential characteristics of low-income households, such as cooking less frequently due to meal delivery services from the welfare center and the lower number of residents per household. Even though the moisture generation rates of low-income households for certain activities showed lower values compared to the results of prior studies, the indoor conditions were very humid due to the lower ventilation rates and studio-type open floor plan.

A cross-sectional comparison of meal delivery options in three international cities.

The recent upsurge in online food delivery options has reshaped the food market. The aim of this study was to examine between-city differences and within-city socioeconomic differences in the number of online meal delivery options, meal types, and meal prices. A cross-sectional study was conducted in three international cities within high-income countries. Across 10 sampled addresses in Chicago (USA), Amsterdam (The Netherlands), and Melbourne (Australia), meal delivery options provided by a major international meal delivery company were sampled. Bonferroni adjusted Chi2-tests were conducted to assess between-city differences as well as within-city socioeconomic differences in price levels. Across the 10 sampled addresses in each city, there were n = 1668 delivery options in Chicago, n = 1496 in Amsterdam and n = 1159 in Melbourne. In total, 10,220 keywords (representing 148 different meal types) were recorded across all 4323 delivery options. In all three cities, burgers, pizza and Italian were in the top 10 of most advertised meals. Compared with Amsterdam, healthy and meat-free meals were less commonly advertised in Chicago and Melbourne. In Chicago, the number of delivery options for addresses in the most disadvantaged and least disadvantaged neighborhoods were similar. In Amsterdam and Melbourne, a greater number of options was available for the addresses in the least disadvantaged neighborhoods. This study highlights the vast number of meal delivery options individuals can source when at home via a meal delivery service, noting the number differs across and within cities. In each city, most food types available for delivery were not considered healthy.

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Meal Delivery Services Designed to Improve Diabetic Blood Sugar Control

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Meal Delivery Services Designed to Improve Diabetic Blood Sugar Control

Food Delivery Apps and the Negative Health Impacts for Americans.

Food delivery applications have seen a surge in growth over the past decade. Digital ordering represents half of all food delivery visits, expanding beyond traditional dinner delivery to encompass breakfast and lunch delivery (1). Digital orders, ordered via a mobile app, Internet, or text message, have grown 23% over the past 4 years representing a $26.8 billion dollar industry (2). In most instances, digital food ordering can be done directly with a restaurant app or third party food service, which allow people to view local restaurants and menus (2). GrubHub, founded in 2004, was the first successful third-party food delivery system (3). The company rapidly grew, acquiring other online businesses and expanded into the delivery service arena. With approximately 44,000 restaurants on GrubHub's platform, food sales reported in October 2019 grossed about 1.4 billion dollars, an estimated 15% gross year-over-year increase (4). With their success came other services, like UberEats, which grew by 230% in 2017 (5). It is expected that food delivery applications will have over 44 million users in the United States in 2020 (6). While this growth has both positive and negative outcomes for restaurants, expanding their market yet costing them in fees, what does it mean for the American consumers and their health? Roughly two-thirds of the American consumer utilizing a popular food-delivery platform, DoorDash, reported that food delivery was their preferred way of eating dinner (7). However, what many of these individuals might not realize is that the frequency of eating food from outside of the home is positively associated with a high body mass index (8). In a study done by Zion et al. (5), it was reported that 40% of people surveyed had used a multi-restaurant food delivery application in the past 90 days. Of those using the application services, 53% used it greater than 3 times in the past 3 months and of those, 7% had used it more than 11 times. Other data suggests that 10% of Americans use delivery services weekly and 52% typically order food delivery for lunch (9). When considering the increasing prevalence rates for overweight and obesity in the U.S., the effects of these digital food-delivery apps could be of great concern. Overweight and obesity is a persisting epidemic in both pediatric and adult populations, with the most recent U.S. obesity (not including overweight) prevalence rates indicating that roughly 40% and 18% of adult and children are overweight or obese, respectively (10). In particular, the prevalence rate for obesity among young adults was reported to be 35.7% in 2016. Similarly, teens between 12-19 years of age had a reported obesity prevalence rate of 20.6% (10). These statistics are alarming considering that the majority users (63%) of food-delivery apps are youth adults ages 19–29 years of age (5). It is well-established from longitudinal studies that that adolescents who have better diet quality gain less weight in adulthood compared to those with poorer diet quality (11), Due to diverse and competing food-delivery platforms, users have the potential to select healthy options when opting to use digital ordering. However, reports from the most frequently used platforms highlight that American consumers' top ordered foods include a cheeseburger and fries, pizzas, nachos, cheesecake, baby back pork rib, chicken and waffle sliders, etc., indicating that calorie-dense options are some of the most popular selections to be delivered (7). Other sources report that in 2016, pizza was the most popular takeout/delivery food, followed by Asian cuisine, sandwiches, and Italian cuisine (9). GrubHub noted that over 70% of users utilized their applications to order quick service or fast casual foods (12). Over the past 30 years, fast food portion sizes have increased, calories have increased, and sodium levels have increased, intensifying the potential problem these applications might pose to the ongoing obesity epidemic (8). In addition to the frequent use in the young-adult age group, these food delivery services continue to rise in popularity across adolescent American students (13, 14). With up to 15 deliveries a day, school districts are reevaluating their policy and banning meal delivery services due to safety concerns (13, 14). A synopsis of school lunch delivery services that provide, “healthy,” “fresh,” “organic,” or “from scratch” foods average a cost of $4–$8 per entree (15). This is a dramatic increase when compared to State School Nutrition data from 2017 highlighting lunch costs ranging from $2.48 to $2.74 per meal (16). In order to access more elite school lunch delivery services, schools must register with the service or parents must go online to coordinate/meal plan their child's food, or food service must align with National School Lunch Program standards (15). Meaning that access to healthy food deliveries is not equal across all student groups.

Meal delivery logistics and the agencies of distribution in urban economies of food provision in the UK

Newcastle-upon-Tyne has recently seen an expansion in takeaway prepared food thanks to the meal delivery service provided through companies such as Deliveroo. These companies have what they call a “technology platform” that enables customers in certain urban areas to order and purchase a meal which is delivered to their location, usually within thirty minutes. Although a seemingly mundane moment of consumption, the processes underpinning this act compose a distinctly urban manifestation of the broader logistical logics of contemporary capitalism. Delivering a prepared meal from a restaurant to its nearby site of ingestion in the city is symptomatic of the role of logistics in valuation, through achieving the right place at the right time for a given commodity. Such logistics require the emergence of new urban infrastructure and the reconfiguration of existing components through the combination of the technology platform, the restaurant collection point and rider-deliverybox-vehicle assemblage. Building from this infrastructure, Deliveroo are able to extend their operations into food production and supply, whilst also re-organising socio-spatial divisions of labour in food provisioning. Distribution is therefore no neutral mediator between production and consumption, but rather has far-reaching effects, altering existing and generating new spatial practices composing urban economies of food provision.