Mealku: Sharing Homemade Recipes, Creating Communities
The Cat Forum and Extreme Ironing Facebook page prove there's an online community for everything. So it shouldn't be shocking to see Mealku, the online food co-op that allows members to not only share homemade recipes, but also have them delivered to your door. Spurred by the belief that food should be universal and affordable, Mealku brings the joy of quality cooking to people without the mess in the kitchen or the trek to a four-star restaurant.
The co-op, created by Ted D’Cruz-Young, is based in New York, but can operate anywhere. You can start a Mealku community for your street, your apartment building, or even your office. The number of people involved in the sharing can be as large or small as you please. Once you find a group of people that have similar diet interests, or are interested in trying something new, you're good to go. The Mealku folks refer to it as The Real Food Network and The Best Way to Eat. reward their users' membership and activity with cash incentives.
The process is simple: Post. Order. Earn.
Make a delicious meal and post it to the site. Other Mealku members can then order what you have available, and Mealku will take care of packaging the food and delivering it. No need to worry about being a top chef: there are ways to classify the food you eat as Basic Fare, or Unique Ethnic. You can even post Comfort Food. You cook it, you set the expectations.
To order, click on the "Meals" section and pick out what you like best--you can specify what kinds of food you like in order to get a menu better suited to your pallat. Once you've found the meal you want you click "Order" and a Mealku rider is sent to bring you your food.
By cooking, reviewing and referring a friend, members can earn "Ku points." Members can spend the points by ordering, attending events, and having deliveries. Those unable to invest in cooperative activities can purchase "Ku bundles," the prices of which (including membership dues and cash-back rewards) are listed here .
There's no need to worry about hygiene, because they've thought of that already. A list of cooking, storing, cleaning and prepping guidelines ensure that all meals are made with food safety as a priority.
The folks at Mealku refer to their work as the "The Real Food Network and The Best Way to Eat." Hard to argue against that since the word, "network," is being used literally.
