Fresh, customizable food for a good cause? Where do I sign up?
The answer is Fresh Taste Meal Prep, a local meal delivery service that was recently launched by the team behind Valley foodie favorite Aioli Gourmet Burgers. Fresh Taste brings fully cooked and freshly prepared dishes directly to your door, and in turn supports local nonprofits focused on feeding the hungry.
Here’s how it works: Order meals online for weekly delivery or pickup. For every 10 meals purchased, Fresh Taste donates a meal to those in need.
Menu offerings change every week and can be customized to cater to any diet from keto to vegan. Meals can be ordered once or on an ongoing weekly basis.
Aioli developed the prepared meals program when the pandemic hit, holding obvious appeal to those staying at home. During Fresh Taste’s first month, it donated more than 1,000 meals to community members in need.
Current menu items include breakfast tacos, a Korean beef bowl and jambalaya. It’s perfect for foodies who are working from home and want to eat healthier without sacrificing flavor. Oh, and it’s affordable. In fact, the more you eat, the lower the price. Order five to nine meals for $9 each or 14-plus for $8 each.
As I so happen to be a foodie working from home who wants to eat healthier without sacrificing flavor, I decided to give Fresh Taste a try.
The site is user-friendly, allowing customers to customize their orders based on dietary preference. I am a pescatarian, so I immediately jumped at options like the falafel pita and chili lime shrimp. Other appetizing offerings included lemon herb salmon and a charcuterie box. I plopped the shrimp and falafel in my virtual cart, along with brown sugar-glazed carrots, minestrone soup and, because I was hankering for something sugary, the sweet box.
My order arrived at my front door, as promised, three days later. I couldn’t wait to dig in, so I opened up the tidy packaging and popped the shrimp (sided with healthful quinoa and broccoli) into the microwave, put my feet up and watched Netflix while chowing down on a gourmet meal in the comfort of my home. Of course, I devoured the sweet box – two soft sugar cookies and two flaky cinnamon rolls – within days. I spent the rest of the week eating the rest of the meals with ease. The falafel was moist and came with sauces and veggies on the side (win) and the soup was hearty and healthy – loaded with penne pasta and various veggies.
I’m excited to try more offerings in the coming weeks – the idea of new items every week is enticing – and I’m delighted that my money is staying local and helping the community. Of course, the accessibility of all of it is a major plus – fresh meals at your fingertips. I also like knowing where my food is coming from and where my money is going. Call it a win-win.
