The high cost of getting food delivered.
It's Been a Minute
NPR
4.7 • 9.2K Ratings
🗓️ 23 February 2026
⏱️ 26 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
According to data from the National Restaurant Association, around 60% of both millennials and Gen Z say food delivery is an essential part of their lifestyles. But are the steep prices — and occasional guilt — worth the convenience? Brittany is joined by NPR Life Kit producer Margaret Cirino, who recently scaled her food delivery habits way back, to discuss why so many have come to rely on it and what a different path could look like.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This message comes from the Science of Happiness. Science shows that love is expansive. |
| 0:06.2 | Academy Award winner Gina Davis explores why people love, how love grows, and how it sustains them. |
| 0:13.0 | Subscribe to the Science of Happiness wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 0:18.9 | Ordering food delivery is not rational, it's impulsive. |
| 0:22.5 | It's the equivalent of going to the grocery store when you're hungry. |
| 0:25.6 | It just feels that there's been a mentality shift where people have just decided that they're willing to pay a very hefty premium for convenience, even when other parts of their life are very unaffordable. |
| 0:41.8 | Today, we are talking about breaking habits and doing something new, even when it's hard. |
| 0:49.2 | I have a very special guest here with me, Margaret Serino. Welcome back once again to |
| 0:53.8 | It's Been a Minute. Hi, Brittany. Good to be back. |
| 0:57.5 | Okay, so Marge, you're a producer over at Life Kit, which is NPR's how-to and advice podcast. And I've |
| 1:04.0 | heard you've been trying to do something a little differently in your life. So I had this habit of ordering food delivery, like a lot. And by a lot, |
| 1:15.8 | you mean if I can be vulnerable about this with you. Okay. I think at the most, there were some |
| 1:21.7 | weeks I was ordering takeout like four times, perhaps. Oh, okay, four times a week. |
| 1:28.7 | Okay. |
| 1:29.2 | Yes, yes. |
| 1:29.9 | What kind of things did you get? |
| 1:31.3 | Okay, usually the things I crave the most are like nachos, ramen, pizza. |
| 1:37.4 | And I don't think ordering delivery is like inherently bad. |
| 1:41.4 | It can definitely make people's lives easier, including people with disabilities, |
| 1:45.6 | people navigating mental health issues, and new parents, to name a few. But for me personally, |
| 1:51.8 | this was my biggest vice. Like, I realized that all my money was going towards the instant |
| 1:57.7 | gratification of delivery food, and I was barely saving anything. I was |
... |
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