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Food Delivery

In the past, food delivery was difficult because transportation was very limited, communication was restricted to mail, and storage was minimal at best. Only wealthy citizens could afford to have food sent from another land to their residence, typically by land (foot messengers, wagons) or through various waterways. Travel was difficult, and there was no means to prevent spoilage of food while traveling. Meats spoiled quickly, so animals were shipped alive.

The invention of the steamboat, the first railroad system, and the first gas-powered car in the 1800s helped improve transportation and increased the popularity of food delivery. It was around that time that grocery stores started offering deliveries to their customer’s homes, which was an appreciated change. This was before individual product packaging, and grocers had to weigh out and package each order, making it a lengthy process. The invention of refrigeration in the 1870s allowed for the distribution of perishable food via the railroad system, which helped bring a wider range of foods to the masses. The shipment of butchered meat also helped speed up the delivery process. The year 1876 brought the invention of the telephone, which provided a quicker route of communicating delivery needs. Lhardy, a restaurant in Madrid, Spain, acquired a phone in 1885 that led to one of the first phone delivery systems involving freshly made food; it would send workers with a tray of food on their heads to deliver to local customers who phoned in their orders. This rapid improvement of transportation, storage, and communication in the 19th century paved the way for improved food delivery service.

From the late 1800s into the early 1900s, Americans used cooked-food delivery services to avoid the hassle of shopping, planning meals, and hiring a cook. This experimental catering service involved outside companies delivering fully cooked, ready-to-eat meals to a household based on how often they needed it. They relied on specially made wagons with the latest technology in refrigeration and heating to maintain their serving temperatures. Originally, galvanized tin boxes insulated with boiling water, kept on a stove in the wagon, provided the heat needed to deliver food. Other inventions included the ‘‘heat retainer,’’ created by George Chamberlain of Massachusetts. It involved an insulated, galvanized iron bucket lined with aluminum. Hot soapstone went into the bucket, along with the plates of ready-to-eat food, followed by a lid. It was a cumbersome contraption, but successfully delivered hot food a hundred miles via train.

Prices ranged from 15 cents to one dollar per meal. One of the more popular companies, started by homemaker Bertha L. Grimes of Ohio, charged $2.75 a week for two meals a day. At her best, Grimes sold up to 175 meals per day. There was a stigma at the time of eating the same food as everyone else, but convenience won out in the end (2470).

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