In-Person Is Better. Especially for Food.

Why we’re not building a delivery business. 

We recently saw a debate online on whether it’s preferable to take a job for $120K, fully remote, or $240K, in-office. Lots of people had lots of opinions, on both sides. 

Of course, there are countless reasons why folks may need to be at home, including caregiving for loved ones or accommodating their health and accessibility needs. But many people making the case for the remote job didn’t have extenuating circumstances. They just didn’t want to be in person. Now, to be totally clear, we think this is completely their right. But we found it fascinating because, for us, the in-office job would be a no-brainer.

Our big fear is that we are starting to lose the magic of interacting in real life, in person. 

In many obvious ways, technology-enabled remote interaction has made life so much better and so much more convenient. But in other, sometimes less obvious ways, remote doesn’t work so well. One area we really don’t think it works is food. 

Here’s why: 

1. Food that doesn’t travel is just better. 

The second food has to be packed up, sealed, driven around, and handed off several times, it starts losing its luster. 

Meal delivery is built around one constraint: the food has to survive travel. That pushes everything toward packaging, holding, and “staying good” longer than it naturally would. Even the best restaurants can’t control what happens once the food leaves their hands. And it’s not their fault! Travel is inherently the enemy of “freshly made.”

Frozen and refrigerated meal delivery face these constraints even more severely – needing to ensure food can survive days and weeks, instead of hours. To achieve this feat, formulators often must drive up the sodium content and lengthen the ingredient list.

The only transportation system we want our food to go through is pan → fridge, or pan → plate. 

When we started Homemade, we did not want to build another version of meal delivery. We aren’t trying to win by moving food faster or packaging it better. We want to preserve the thing we actually want: homemade food that tastes good and makes us feel good.

2. Connecting with your community is additive, not subtractive. 

A lot of tech products quietly remove humans from the equation. They reduce interactions. Yes, they make life more efficient – but they also make it more isolated. Homemade is the opposite. We give you back time in your day, but, in the process, we create connection rather than eliminate it. 

When you book through Homemade, you’re participating in a relationship with a person who lives near you, who brings their own story and culture and creativity into your kitchen.

The “sharing economy” isn’t some fringe concept anymore. It’s mainstream. And when it works, it’s not because it’s cheap or fast, it’s because it’s trust-powered.

At Homemade, we’re obsessed with that trust layer. We require background checks for both clients and home cooks, and home cooks also submit their food safety certification. We set clear expectations at every step of the way. And we collect two-way public feedback to protect our community and power learning. Making sure both sides feel safe and respected is core to our model. Because the whole experience only works if it feels good for everyone involved. 

Having this community-based approach to food makes life richer, makes health feel more human, and hopefully brings back a little of the in-person magic that we’re scared we’re losing.

3. Operational transparency adds real value, and peace of mind.

Disconnection not only sacrifices community building and culture sharing, it also means that we know even less about where our food comes from and how it is made. 

We’re fascinated by the research done by Harvard Business School Professor Ryan Buell and others on operational transparency. They find that visual transparency between consumers and producers boosts customer perception, service quality, and efficiency.

For Homemade, this positive feedback loop creates value for both clients and home cooks. And, for clients with dietary restrictions and allergies, it’s even more important. When someone cooks in your kitchen, you’re not trying to reverse-engineer what’s in a mysterious sauce. You’re not wondering if the gluten-free or vegetarian option was actually handled with care. 

Cooking in your home allows for transparency and security in what you’re eating, at a level that you can’t get anywhere else. 

So…why aren’t we building a delivery business?

Because delivery optimizes for speed. Homemade optimizes for personalized, fresh execution at home.

We’re trying to make it easy to actually eat the way you want to eat, week after week, without sacrificing taste, without a growing pile of plastic containers, and without you having to do the planning, shopping, cooking, and cleaning.

It’s in-person. It’s personal. It’s better.