ShareCrate: Gifting with meals

ShareCrate is a wonderful gift idea for anyone looking to provide some support for parents transitioning with a new baby at home. As a mom that has gone through that unsettling undertaking of bringing a new baby home, I know that day to day responsibilities can fall to the wayside. ‘Tasky’ home chores like making dinners, doing laundry and picking up toys can seem overwhelming. Having pre-made meals at hands reach, can not only help decrease your ‘to-do’s’ but also give a family more time to settle into their new “normal.”

ShareCrate is delivered in an adorable cardboard box dressed as a crate. Customers can choose from two different package meal sizes dependent on the size of the family you are gifting. They have a medium meal package, serving up to a family of 2-3 and a large meal package that serves a family of 5-6. The food is packaged neatly and is organized nicely by the different meals provided. Each meal comes with a nicely designed recipe card on card stock that gives clear directions on how each meal is cooked.

The medium meal was enough to feed my husband, myself, my 3 year old son and 1 year old daughter. I really like the option of how to store the meals once you receive them. Our family chose to save a few meals in the freezer for about a week as were out of town. I also appreciated that the meals were easy to make since recipes were simple enough to follow. Each meal took no more than 30 minutes to cook which is a godsend on busy nights were families are balancing ‘to-do lists’ with returning home from work. I saved my recipe cards for later as I thought it would come in handy reusing the idea of each of the meals. Lastly, for the medium size ShareCrate, I would say the cost is pretty reasonable. In my case, for a family of 4, there is no way we could get 3 meals delivered for less than $89—which is the cost of the medium size package.

I would say there was only one downsides of ShareCrate, which was the taste of the meat products in the meals. Although the balance of food groups was represented and the flavoring and sauces in each of the meals was really good, the meat just tasted a little processed and I didn’t care for it.

As a mom to a new baby, you’r sole purpose is to love, comfort and provide for your child; the last thing you want to do is make dinner! Offering a gift like ShareCrate is an amazing alternative to baby clothes and toys—it’s something that makes life easier. I would have definitely appreciated a gift like this as a new mom.

By Katie Gardner

Hi! I'm a mom of two beautiful kids--Henry 3 1/2 & Quinn, 15 months; I have been married for 4 years. I work full time as an Education Coordinator at Head Start and have a Masters of Arts in Teaching. I love traveling and doing anything 'crafty' in my free time.