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Freedom With A Side Of Guilt: How Food Delivery Is Reshaping Mealtime

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"From her roughly $50,000 annual salary as a data processor in San Diego, Ms. Reedy, 34, spends at least $200 to $300 a week on food delivery."

If you're spending at least 20 percent of your salary on *delivered* food, maybe affordability isn't the main issue.

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/d...

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— Tom Nichols (@radiofreetom.bsky.social) February 1, 2026 at 6:20 PM

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This article about DoorDash and co food deliveries has led to quite the drama on several platforms


The NYT talks to people who are spending a lot of their money on Door Dash

A data processor in San Diego spends at least $200 to $300 a week on food deliveries:

“I feel reliant upon it, but guilt for using it.”

A family of four oders in for $700 per week:

“I am so burned out and tired, I would rather just throw my credit card at the problem and delay that unhappiness until the bill comes.”

Yash Babar, a professor at the Wisconsin School of Business says people are increasingly disconnected from food preparations

DoorDash driver Mitch Drabenstott:

“It seems like everyone uses these delivery services whether they have the money or not.”

Uber Eats driver Austin Layne makes $2 to $4 per delivery in LA, tips (if they happen) are only a few dollars

Customer Will Parks is cutting back after spending 1/3 of his money on ordering food:

“Food delivery is a scam. It is incredibly expensive, the quality has gone down precipitously and with costs being so high, I took a hard look at it and was like, ‘This is a waste of my cash and time.’”