We’ve always said that the research on the benefits of family dinners speaks for itself. Study after study demonstrates “why” family dinner is important; we tell people that The Family Dinner Project is here to help with “how” family dinner happens. And over the course of fifteen years, that “how” has undergone some surprising changes.
One thing we never could have anticipated, when The Family Dinner Project was founded, is the rise of food delivery services like Grubhub and DoorDash becoming a significant source of family meals. But according to a recent NY Times article, that’s exactly what has happened. During the COVID lockdowns, dinner delivery became a way of life for a lot of us, and once the world opened back up, not everyone dropped the habit.
According to the article, the number of households who use food delivery services doubled between 2019 and 2024; by 2025, a third of American adults reported ordering food for delivery at least once a week. And a recent piece by Pew Research suggests the popularity of delivery may be even greater than that; two-thirds of respondents in their research said they get delivery either “About once a week/a few times a month” or “every day/a few times a week.“
Of course, the rise of convenience doesn’t mean home cooking has gone away. A solid 88% of Pew respondents said they eat a home cooked meal a few times a week. And there are good reasons to do so; as Pew reports, people who cook and eat at home are more likely to say that they have a healthy diet. Also, as the Boston Globe points out, the cost of food delivery can be a big concern. With upcharges for the delivery service and tips on top of already rising restaurant costs, which outpace higher-than-average grocery prices, the decision to order in has real financial implications. Some families, the Globe reports, are starting to opt back out of the convenience of delivery for that reason alone.
We talked about the complexities and trade-offs of frequent dinner delivery on our latest podcast episode, “Dinner by DoorDash?” In the episode, you can hear our thoughts on:
- The costs associated with family meal delivery (4:45)
- The impact of frequent delivery on life skills development (11:10)
- Ideas to help families strike a balance between convenience and other considerations (25:15)
- Food, fun, and conversation suggestions for easy and positive family meals (31:00)
However the food gets to your table, the really important thing is to eat it as a family, as often as you can. In all the research that has shown how good shared meals are for our happiness and social-emotional wellbeing, those positive outcomes are rarely tied to the food we’re actually eating or where it came from. (It’s a somewhat different story if you look at nutritional and physical health markers.) In a complex and busy world, taking the time to slow down and eat together isn’t always easy, so sometimes you have to do whatever it takes to get to the “fun and conversation” part of the meal – even if that means relying on DoorDash to do it.
Food
Make it easier to resist delivery apps with these incredibly quick and easy meals, which are almost guaranteed to hit the table before your delivery does!
Fun
Put your screens to a different use with a round of Google Feud.
Conversation
March is Women’s History Month – a great opportunity to take your delivery (or your no-fail dinner) to the couch and check out one of these family films!