One Senior Place: Home delivery services help seniors get what's needed without leaving home

Q: I’m disabled. What delivery options are out there?

A: For seniors searching for additional ways to remain independent, a new hero has emerged: online delivery services.

Far beyond groceries from the corner store, a world of delivery options is now available to aging adults — even those with the barest amount of tech savvy.

Home delivery services that cater to the specific needs and preferences of seniors have gone from boutique niche — to fast-growing trend.

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History of home delivery

Food delivery started with the milkman in Britain in the 1860s, while Italian royals began having pizza delivered in 1889.

Tiffany’s Blue Book was the start of mail order catalogs in 1845, followed by Montgomery Ward in 1872.

In 1952, Marvin Schwan began home delivery of his family's homemade ice cream to rural western Minnesota.

The Amazon behemoth (remember when they just sold books?) — exploded onto the retail-shopping scene in 1995.

Restaurants deliveries ramped up in the early 2000s. While all these companies nurtured the home delivery industry, the COVID-19 pandemic revolutionized it.

Seniors and delivery

Maintaining independence and quality of life at home is one of the biggest challenges facing America’s aging adults.

Mobility, transportation, cooking, shopping and health conditions can mean limited access to essential goods and services.

In addition to providing convenience, delivery services of all kinds return a modicum of control to seniors who feel bypassed by a busy world.

Perhaps not surprisingly, seniors able to provide for their various needs at home can experience lower long-term care costs.

COVID game changer

In the spring of 2020, Americans retreated from public to the relative safety of their own social bubbles.

School closures, remote employment and a new homebound population created a flourishing market for food delivery services.

As seniors cautiously accessed these services, benefits became apparent.

Years earlier, Meals on Wheels had proven that home-delivered meals improved the nutrition status of older adults.

COVID-era newcomers like Instacart, Door Dash and Grubhub sent more groceries, pharmacy items and favorite restaurant meals to seniors’ doors. Family caregivers rejoiced at these new options.

Today, Magic Kitchen, Silver Cuisine and Mom’s Meals deliver prepared meals. Seniors that still enjoy cooking can choose from Green Chef, Sunbasket and Hello Fresh, with meal “kit” ingredients to create multiple meals to eat or freeze.

While the home delivery industry now encompasses almost anything you can imagine, not all seniors are ready to embrace this sea change. But for those who are, home delivery is another tool in their aging-in-place toolbox.

Got a question for The Experts in Aging? Call One Senior Place at 321-751-6771 or email [email protected].

One Senior Place is a marketplace for resources and provider of information, advice, care and on-site services for seniors and their families. Questions for this column are answered by professionals in nursing, social work, care management and in-home care. Send questions to [email protected], call 321-751-6771 or visit One Senior Place, The Experts in Aging.

Brenda Lyle is a Certified Care Manager and Certified Dementia Practitioner with One Senior Place, Greater Orlando.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: How have home delivery services helped seniors? Let us count the ways