Mark Jenike, associate professor and chair of
the department of anthropology at Lawrence
University in Appleton, Wisconsin, says food is
both biological and cultural, and the approach
to it needs to take both into account.
“It fulfills biological needs but is imbued with
meaning that makes it very cultural as well,”
Jenike says. “So I could certainly see for some
people that getting a meal kit allows them to
focus on bonding and together time as they
prepare and consume a meal together. That
could be a very appealing option.”
If an hour that would’ve been spent driving to
the grocery store and rushing through the aisles
is instead spent purposefully simmering a sauce,
a home cook could become more connected to
their food. And if a meal kit includes everything
premeasured down to the last half-teaspoon
of chili powder, White says, people who find
cooking intimidating might discover it’s actually
kind of fun.
But there are downsides. A growing number
of young adults have no idea how to
scramble an egg or cook rice. White often sees
“students that come to college and they have
no idea how to feed themselves. They don’t
know how to grocery shop. They don’t have
basic cooking skills.”
Jenike notices the same thing at his university:
“One of the real problems with things like
Uber Eats and eating out all the time and food
delivery is that so many kids now grow up
without the skills to prepare their own food.”
A company called Starship Technologies has
begun delivering takeout via A.I.-controlled
robots on a few college campuses nationwide.