The Local Meal Prep Service We're Leaning On Now That Delivery Windows Are Scarce

Welcome to Week 5.

We have a lot to be hashtag grateful for.

We still have a few rolls of tp left. (Once those are gone, who knows?)

We’ve managed to mostly agree on which movies to watch via On Demand every night.

And up until the weekend before last, our grocery orders were still getting picked up.

My sister’s been cooking some simple but delicious meals for the three of us. My sister and I, the two of us, have been quarantining with our 90 year old mom who is high risk, and we cannot risk going to a market and possibly bringing the virus back to her. (On a related note, a friend texted me the other day about a trip to the supermarket and seeing an elderly lady without a mask, gloves or any protection from the virus struggling physically to pick up some groceries. My heart breaks for that lady!)

But what happens when we can’t get any fresh food brought to the door? No chicken on the bone for my mom’s soup? No potatoes for baking or mashing? No red peppers for slicing up or stuffing?

Enter Feast & Fettle. Now I’ve done some fun collaborations with them in the past, before all of this, when things were light and frothy, almost carefree, in comparison. A few years ago I hosted a picnic at Goddard Park featuring some of their lunchtime yumminess, and Stacey Doyle Photography documented, taking lovely photos. Last fall we teamed up on a Friendsgiving for a small group including an old friend from high school, someone I used to work with back in my retail days, and two women entrepreneurs I’d originally connected with by way of Instagram. I even gave away some meals over on Instagram not too long ago.

Photo by Stacey Doyle Photography

Fast forward to the last few days, though, and all I can say is that there’s a special kind of panic that takes over when you start to realize you may NOT be able to get your hands on the food you need, something that many of us have never really had to grapple with until this pandemic.

Now, when we first started hunkering down, I donated a few dollars to the Food Bank and Meals On Wheels Rhode Island (and intend to give MORE this month), but never grasped that a legit lack of access was coming our way and fast, not to mention how terrifying that could be.

So, this morning after spending hours again trying to push online orders thru (feels like a lottery, amirite?), I decided to look up my old friends over at Feast & Fettle. (Full disclosure, this is NOT at all a collab or sponsored post.) First things first, their meals are scrumptious. Second, I know that they are using the same top shelf ingredients that my sister (I don’t cook, unless you count coffee, toast, eggs, or the once-in-a-blue-moon plate of spaghetti.) would be using — if we could be assured we’d be able to get regular deliveries. Sadly, we cannot right now.

Also, in addition to partnering with a bunch of neat local makers and marquee names on the Rhody scene like Luluna Kombucha, Borealis Coffee, Seven Stars, and PVDonuts to add new treats and sweets to their weekly menus, Feast has recently added local eggs and milk which is such a convenient way to stay stocked up on these essentials. I ordered some eggs along with our meals and sides and I couldn’t be happier about the whole thing.

That’s all for now.

Stay well,

Patty J