Senior Meal Services

Senior Meal Delivery Services - Top Rated Senior Meals Reviews

Senior Meal Delivery Services - Top Rated Senior Meals Reviews

Family Caretakers Tips for Having Senior Meals Delivered

Our focus is for those of you that must utilize a private-pay option. Senior meals come in a wide range of prices and quality. Whether you're a family caretaker or a senior living on your own, we believe we have senior and elderly prepared meal solutions for every situation. Before you buy, take these important factors into consideration:
  • 100% Satisfaction Guarantee - And don't take for granted a company offers it if they say so with a large title or banner. You have actually read their guarantee and see what is covered. Some companies play tricks with this as a marketing ploy.
  • A La Carte Ordering - More and more meal delivery services want to lock you into automatic reordering of meal plans. That can be a great option for a family caretaker, but first try a few deliveries before you commit long-term.
  • Delivery Charges and Date of Delivery - Know what you delivery costs, and when your delivery should arrive, before you place your order. Some companies will not tell you that. 
As mentioned, we have purchased food from all of these meal delivery services. We will show you actual pictures of senior meals that came with our deliveries. For the most, the picture of the meal will explain itself, but we did add comments as needed. If you have any questions about choosing a senior meal delivery service, please contact us. We believe in family caretakers united and sharing their experiences. Hopefully, you won't have to learn by trial and error like we did.

Our Top-Rated Senior Meal Delivery Services Based on Quality, Price, and Value

Each of the senior meal delivery companies we mention here will link to its own web page, providing you with more detail and pictures of the senior food we purchased. This is a summary of services we recommend and why we recommend them. We rated these senior meal delivery services based on our customer experiences and their quality and value.
Best Value for Senior Meals Delivered Top Chef Meals
Rated #1: Top Chef Meals

Have catered meals delivered to your loved one? Now available throughout the U.S., you may find Top Chef Meals a solution for your senior meal deliveries. We discovered their senior meals to be better than average and economically priced. We have had some minor delivery issues, such as cracked or leaking trays, every time we order, but maybe that is just our bad luck.

We have noticed the effort and attention to detail it takes for a food service to improve shipping, packaging, and reheating meals. It all adds up to the best value for a senior meals to us.

Another benefit Top Chef Meals offers is the ability to create custom meals, with nutritional values, for your protein, side, and vegetables. We especially like the option of paying about $1 more for a more substantial sized entree (protein) portion. It appears to us, an extra $1 gets you a second portion about half the size of the original serving size.
Selected Top Chef Meals from our Most Recent Review.
  • Offers a customization option (which we used) to pick your entree, side, and vegetable
  • Average meal under $10
  • Above-average portion size, and the option for larger entree portion sizes
  • 100% Satisfaction Guarantee
  • Nutritional diet support
  • Ships frozen in microwave trays
  • Generous breakfast menu
  • A La Carte shopping
Application: The company has a background as a cater, and that is how you can expect to receive your food. It is good quality and reasonably priced, with vast menu options. Read our complete Top Chef Meals Review.
Rated #2: Babeth's Feast - Outstanding Customization

If you remember (and miss) DineWise senior meals, Babeth's Feast is for you. Now you can restock your freezer with delicious entrees, sides, and vegetables and create thousands of combinations of senior meals or just get the entrees and use your own sides and vegetables. You are only limited by your imagination and your freezer space. 

We found most meals will average about $11 to $12, but some seniors, elderly, and family caretakers may find the portion sizes are so big that they generate a second meal with the leftovers. Of course, that would add even more value to your order. The food quality is very good and the selections are plentiful.
Selected Babeth's Feast Meals from our Most Recent Review.
  • Mix and Match Menu - Choose your entree side and vegetable
  • Customized A La Carte Shopping - Order as much or as little as you want
  • Huge Portions - Most meals may be two servings
  • $15 Nationwide Shipping
  • Compelling Menu
  • Lots of Sales and Specials
  • No 100% Satisfaction Guarantee
  • Check Your Order - Frequent shortages and overages
Application: Well above average food with individual packaging a la the old DineWise website. Sous-vide and microwave heating. Great entrees!

Read our full Babeth's feast Reviews.
Rated #3: FreshDirect - 4-Minute Meals

Fresh Direct was further down on our list because of their local regional delivery areas which include the Manhattan and the tri-state area, Philadelphia, and Washington DC. We moved it up because the food quality is excellent, the prices are very reasonable, and there are a long list of benefits seniors, the elderly, and family caretakers can take advantage of to care for themselves or their loved ones.
Selected FreshDirect Meals from Our Most Recent Review
  • A La Carte shopping with large menu of over 50 prepared meals
  • Most meals are delivered fresh
  • Very convenient reheating
  • The best microwave (and BPA-free) containers for reheating meals
  • Meals prepared in house
  • Most meals under $10
  • Excellent delivery service with scheduling options
  • Other prepared options available
  • Grocery items can be added to food deliveries
  • Deliveries made by the company
  • Limited beef items on the menu
  • No breakfast meals
  • 100% Satisfaction Guarantee
Application: For those living the Tri-state, Phily, and Washington DC area, Fresh Direct has a lot to offer family caretakers and the seniors and elderly they care for at very fair prices. Learn more by reading our FreshDirect review. 
Most Improved for Senior Meals Delivered Mom's Meals
Rated #4: Mom's Meals - Most Improved Senior Meals

We have reviewed Mom's Meals numerous times through the years, and have always given them poor reviews for almost every aspect pertaining to a meal delivery service. This year, we were surprised, if not astonished, to learn just how much this company improved. 

Mom's Meals is a Medicaid senior delivery service which automatically forces them to produce senior meals within a very fixed budget. Their private-pay option will be very economically priced at $7 a meal, but you won't get better overall food quality or serving sizes better than Top Chef Meals. 

Mom's is for family caretakers who need a low-cost solution for feeding their loved ones. In our opinion, based on all the improvements the company has dedicated itself to, we fell this is the  best option in this price range. 
Selected Mom's Meals from our Most Recent Review.
  • Good (and some average) quality senior meals
  • $7 a meal
  • Inexpensive shipping
  • Excellent reheating process
  • No Satisfaction Guarantee
  • A la carte shopping in fixed quantities
  • No gift certificates
  • No discounts at this time
Application: Meals arrive fresh so refrigerator space is a consideration. Mom's has had shipping, packaging, and food quality issues in the past.

Read our full Mom's Meals Review.
Best Gourmet Menu for Senior Meals Delivered Home Bistro
Rated #5: Home Bistro - Best Gourmet Menu

Home Bistro and DineWise were once the kings of the prepared meal delivery services. Today, they are a small shell of what they used to be, but that is good and has value for some family caretakers who are looking for the perfect balance of gourmet quality, generous portion sizes, convenient packaging, and can afford the $15 and $25 per meal gourmet upgrade.

Loved ones of family caretakers will enjoy high-quality senior meals, which are easy to reheat and store in your freezer. Their unique sous-vide cooking method consistently produces great tasting meals, and their menu is routinely being updated to bring customer new and exciting meals. They do not have any breakfast offerings on the menu, but they do support nutritional meal planning with senior meals that are diabetic friendly, low-carb, reduced sodium, and more. Their very limited menu may quality Home Bistro as a senior meal supplement service rather than a complete solution. 
Selected Home Bistro Senior Meals from our Most Recent Review.
  • Generally the best-quality meals with a true gourmet menu
  • Price range between $8 and $16
  • Larger than average portion sizes
  • 100% Satisfaction Guarantee
  • Limited nutritional meals for special diets available
  • Ships frozen in microwaveable and sous vide bags
  • Meal plans available
  • A la carte shopping (buy as much or as little as you like)
  • Gift certificates available
Application: These senior meals are perfect for retirees, or family caretakers that do not have to provide a 3-meal-a-day solution. Best for those that want to simply maintain an inventory of convenient, and above-average quality senior meals. Read our full Home Bistro Review.
Rated #6. Prepped

A good meal delivery service with high-quality ingredients, great portion sizes, and a slightly below average cost per meal. Meals are delivered fresh, and reheat in 2-3 minutes without issue, once you get the hang of it. Well worth a look. Family caretakers may not find the size of their limited weekly menu to be accommodating enough for their lifestyle. 
Selected Prepped Meals from our Most Recent Review.
  • Above average food quality
  • Inexpensive $15 shipping
  • Average meal cost between $9 and $13
  • Excellent portion sizes
  • Balanced meals for nutritional diets
  • Small rotating menu which prevents us from reordering meals we liked
  • Learning curve to reheat meals
  • Fancy names on meals that over promise and under deliver
  • Fake photos of meals on their website, they use purchased photos
  • No 100% Satisfaction Guarantee
It may be hard to recommend this service as a sole provider for family caretakers, but we would certainly recommend this service to supplement inventory, or for caretakers on a budget of less than $100 a week. Read our complete Prepped review.

The Rest of the Senior Meal Delivery Services Based on Price, Quality, and Value

For between $14 and $16 per meal, Personal Chef To Go will make healthy senior meals, and deliver them fresh. Shipping is free on the east-half of the country too. Choose from a weekly, rotating menu of 12 meals. The quality of the food is top-notch as is the meal preparation. A potential "set it and forget it" senior meal delivery solution for family caretakers.

Freshly prepared gourmet meals with organic food. High-end pricing may not fit most caretaker budgets and shipping outside of the local area can be expensive. A slight drop in the rankings after our latest customer experience. We simply did not feel they are worth the higher price.

Diet-To-Go is the perfect solution for the family caretaker who has to supply breakfast, lunch, and dinner on a nutritional meal plan such as diabetes or low sodium, instead of shopping and learning to cook these meals yourself. Other services do it too, but this one is about as plug and play as it gets.

BistroMD's entry into the senior meal market. A la carte ordering is a plus, and meals average about $10, but we didn't care for most of them. The portion sizes fit more with the weight loss industry, and overall the meals seemed "cheap" to us. There was only one meal in our order we liked enough to order again, but they are balanced meals that fit into a senior, elderly, and family caretaker lifestyle.

$3.50 a meal is the only attraction and may be a realistic solution for family caregivers on the tightest of budgets. Shelf-stable entrees only, you have to add your own sides and vegetables. These entrees rank high because of the low price. It is marketed as a senior weight loss program too.

#12 - BistroMD
A weight loss delivery service with a long history of high quality meals and a well-thought plan for storage and reheating. You must buy automatic meal plans, but this could be a possible solution for remote family caretakers, even if they are not trying to lose weight. We were disappointed with the meals from Silver Cuisine, which may be the same meals.

Higher than average priced organic chef prepared meals delivered nationally. Small menu and after just a few meals it feels like you are eating the same thing every day. They rank 9th with us because the pickings start to get slim.

An alternative for family caretakers on a limited budget but expect rich, unhealthy food you may not want to serve every day, some cracked trays and broken seals, unbalanced meals, inconvenient reheating, and having to manage leftovers. Very few single meal options was a problem for us.

Another "Medicaid" Meal Delivery Services that offer a private pay service. Once a Top 5 Service, we have purchased these meal many times before and experience a huge decline in quality and value. The $7 cost per meal per meal almost doubles based on how many we wouldn't serve our loved ones and had to throw away because of water damage.

#16 - Nutrisystem - We tried the low-cost frozen meals and found some that might be worth adding to your freezer inventory. Priced between $3 and $4, they are not going to be great, but there is an a la carte option so you can choose the best of the litter. Most meals will need to be supplemented with vegetables to make a complete balanced meal.

#17 - Magic Kitchen - Our senior meal order came from a company called Traditions Meal Solutions. It was hard for us to believe a company with good prepared meals would dedicate a whole "Senior Meal"  section of their website to selling these meals at about double what they used to cost when private-pay was available through the Traditions website. Expect low quality ingredients, excessive water in the trays which ruins the meals, broken seals, and a gourmet meal price, double what similar quality meals cost.

No Longer With Us
  • EasyLife Meals - The best prepared meals for diabetics with an extra serving of vegetables. Hopefully they come back once they get financing.
  • DineWise - DineWise purchased Home Bistro years ago but the new owners feel Home Bistro is the better service. None of the original DineWise or Home Bistro recipes exist anymore.
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