Local meal delivery service helps people save time while eating healthy

Sometimes because of time it is easier to order food delivery, but there are not always healthy options to choose from.

By Val Mandujano, Oct. 19, 2023

Jay Gallagher was surrounded by food containers, ingredients and pots.  

There were boxes covering the counters. The kitchen was too small for him to prepare the food for his small business. 

    He realized he needed more space. 

    Gallagher had created a healthy meal delivery service in Charlottetown called Fuel Your Body.  

    In 2019, the first place he sold was in a mini fridge at a local gym on the outskirts of Charlottetown. 

Jay Gallagher created Fuel Your Body four years ago to offer a healthy delivery choice for people, after seeing there weren’t any options available on the island. VAL MANDUJANO PHOTO

    People who trained at the gym grabbed the meals from the fridge and paid at a mini credit card machine. 

    As the business grew, he transformed his garage into a big commercial kitchen.  

    The sales were doing well despite the pandemic. 

Later in 2021, he got a license and bought a building near downtown Charlottetown. 

    “The rest is history,” he said.  

    The meal delivery service offers fully cooked meals to different communities across the island. 

    It sells full meals that have vegetables, meat and carbs, including chicken teriyaki, pasta with veggies and beef patties. 

    The price for a single meal is $15. The delivery costs are personalized depending on the delivery location. 

    Gallagher moved to P.E.I from Ireland in 2012.  

    He used to travel on the road a lot and had a hard time trying to find healthy options to eat out. 

    “I really felt that it was a big gap in the market, especially on PEI,” he said. 

    After taking some business courses he came up with a plan and started the company along with his partner’s father, who has been a chef for 25 years. 

    “A lot of people thought this was never going to make it.” 

Expanding across the Island

    Now, the service delivers meals to Cornwall, Stratford, Winslow, and has pick up locations in Charlottetown, Montague and Summerside.  

    It is the only service like it on the island. They have fridges in different shops around the city where people can pick up their weekly orders. 

    “You walk into the location, open up the fridge and grab the bags with your name on it. As simple as that,” said Gallagher.  

The meals of Fuel Your Body are prepared every week using local ingredients. The menu got varied options for different needs, like vegetarian or gluten-free choices. VAL MANDUJANO PHOTO

An option for everyone

    Jess Dickie found the business when she saw one of the fridges at her regular food store, Simply for Life. 

    “I think it is a great service, worth trying,” she said. “Sometimes we forgot how to eat properly and find options that are not going to necessarily fuel your body.” 

    After going through a weight loss process last year, the service has helped Dickie to improve her relationship with food. 

    “I like that it offers convenient ways to add convenient meals into your life. …. It has reasonable prices in comparison with other food services,” said Dickie. 

    As a nutrition counselor and owner of Simply for Life Charlottetown, Kaitlyn Reher offers Fuel Your Body retail meals at the store, for clients to have a healthy choice. 

    “I think they are accessible considering the cost of food right now,” said Reher. 

    The meals help her clients to achieve their goals when it comes to better nutrition or weight loss.  

    “They are mostly locally sourced products and well-balanced meals. There’s nothing else like it here in P.E.I.” she said.  

Looking to grow

    The meals are prepared from scratch and delivered in cooler bags to keep the food in the right temperature. 

The meals are put into fridges in different pick-up locations across the city or they can be delivered directly to people's houses. VAL MANDUJANO PHOTO 

    Gallagher finds it helpful for people to have another option to get nutritious food and save time. 

    “It’s making a huge difference to people. Instead of spending a pile of time on grocery stores or cleaning dishes, now they have more time to spend with their kids or go to the gym.”

    The business is planning to expand more across the island and set up kitchens in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.