“College is stressful. Meal planning doesn’t have to be.”

That’s the slogan on the Chef’d website announcing its partnership with Spoon University to make meal planning and healthy eating easier for Millennials. Launching early next year, the meal kit subscriptions are available for an introductory price of $99 a week, and they include a range of pre-portioned fresh ingredient meals, fruit, snacks, grab-n-go items and beverages, each curated by Spoon University and fulfilled by Chef’d.

“For the first time in your life, you’re on your own and making decisions about what you should and shouldn’t eat. While the salty dining-hall foods are quick and easy, they won’t leave you feeling your best. With our new college meal plan with Spoon University, you can start establishing good eating habits that will last a lifetime. No shopping, quick and easy prep, and convenient delivery-what more could you ask for?” the Chef’d website says.

In addition to the meal kits, care packages will be available for purchase year-round, and all of the available items are curated for a college lifestyle with an emphasis on the latest trends and healthy options. New meals will be added on a rotating basis, giving subscribers the opportunity to sample different tastes and brands.

“Between academic and social activities, most college students’ schedules don’t permit the time to shop for and prepare a proper meal, yet research shows this is a generation obsessed with food,” said Kyle Ransford, Chef’d chief executive officer, in a statement. “Our partnership with Spoon University, a trusted resource for food-loving students across the country, allows subscribers to enjoy the food they love with the convenience they need, while discovering new brands and cuisines in the process.” 

“Spoon University was created to connect an entire generation through a shared love of food,” said cofounder Mackenzie Barth in the announcement. “With over 8,000 contributors across 200 campuses, we’ve become a trusted resource for college students across the country looking for food reviews, tips and advice.  By tapping into the meal kit industry, which is growing among millennials at an exponential rate, we are able to make that connection even stronger by actually being able to provide direct access to the type of quality food we write about.”

The first meal kits will be shipped in January, but interested students can register for the program now at an introductory price of $99 per week. To grow awareness and to promote the new program, Spoon U and Chef’d will be sending 25,000 promo packages to students featuring product and brand samples.

Insider Take:

With Spoon U’s built-in Millennial audience and Chef’d’s expertise delivering quality meal kits, this is a great partnership and something we anticipate seeing more of. This will appeal to students, particularly those who are foodies, are health conscious and/or are athletes who need to focus on providing their bodies with balanced, nutritious meals and snacks. At $99 a week, we think the price point is high for college students though. We can see concerned parents subscribing their kids to the program though, so they can worry less about how well their students are eating at school.