Zimbabweans abroad are increasingly turning to delivery apps to send food to relatives back home
You may envision delivery-app customers as convenience-driven Americans tapping away to fulfill their culinary desires or blithely buying takeout. But these apps are helping Zimbabweans abroad provide for their families back home, The Guardian reports. Zimbabweans living outside their homeland have been increasingly turning to newer local Zimbabwe-based startups such as Fresh in a Box to get their relatives the items they need. “It is a big part of staying in touch with my roots, staying connected to who I am. It’s more than just sending groceries,” said Sharonrose Manhiri, who orders supplies monthly for her 85-year-old grandmother from her own home in the United Kingdom. Sending groceries directly via an in-country service is also cheaper than sending actual money; for example, it costs $3.50 to send cooking oil to someone in the southern African country via delivery apps, while it costs $4.50 to buy it directly in Zimbabwe, where food prices are high and can fluctuate wildly. —Alex Hinton
