Neal Freiman

join me on the league and find someone in yours download the app and apply today welcome to neil's numbers the segment where i share three stats in the week's news that will spark two hours worth of arguments in your group chat my first number is about the meteoric rise of food delivery a mealtime door dashing revolution that has transformed the way americans eat budget socialize and live the pandemic supercharged the habit and it has not gone away

According to the New York Times, the number of U.S.

households getting food delivered has roughly doubled since the beginning of COVID, to the point where in 2024, almost three of every four restaurant orders were not eaten at a restaurant.

In a National Restaurant Association survey, about one-third of American adults said they order food delivery at least once a week.

Some take it to the extreme.

One San Diego woman told the Times that she orders about $200 to $300 worth of food delivery per week.

which on the low end would account for about 20% of her $50,000 annual salary.

Another 36-year-old man said he decided to cut back after scanning his credit card report and realizing he spent one-third of his money ordering in.

This generated loads of debate online.

Critics used these anecdotes to argue that the widely discussed affordability crisis was mostly just people being financially irresponsible and spending beyond their means.

After all, no one needs to Uber Eats $300 a week.

Others pushed back, saying that

food delivery is indispensable for super busy parents or other folks who may not have the time to sneak out of the house for dinner.

Toby, whichever side you fall on, there's no denying that food delivery has become an economic and cultural force.

I'm going to take the side of the people who are arguing on behalf of food delivery because basically they're saying that

I have more time to socialize with my friends or take care of my kids because I have the ability to order DoorDash or Uber Eats or something like that.

But then I'm also going to immediately undercut myself and say that a lot of people are using it to replace social traditions like you used to sit around a table and eat dinner with your friends or your family.

Now, a lot of people say that they forced the fact that they're getting their food delivered.

They go eat on the couch or something like that.

And then you just don't have that same ritual anymore.