Short answer: SmashMeals are made fresh every single week in our dedicated 100% gluten-free kitchen in Kingsport, Tennessee. They are not frozen, not flash-frozen, and not shipped from a national warehouse. How fresh is fresh? Every Sunday and Monday, the meals you ordered by Thursday at 11:59 PM are cooked, portioned, and either picked up or delivered locally — usually within 24 to 36 hours of being made. That means when you open the container on Monday night, you're eating food that was cooked over the weekend, not food that was frozen weeks ago in a factory. What about nationwide orders? For customers outside the Tri-Cities, we ship via $30 flat-rate FedEx Ground with insulated coolers and gel packs. The meals leave our kitchen refrigerated — still fresh — and arrive cold. Most customers eat them fresh through the week and freeze any they won't reach by day 5. Why this matters National frozen brands like Factor and Freshly cook food in massive facilities, blast-freeze it, and ship it nationwide. That's why their meals can taste rubbery, dry, or "off" after reheating. Fresh-cooked food simply reheats better — the proteins haven't been ice-damaged. Can I freeze SmashMeals if I want to? Yes. The containers are freezer-safe. Most meals freeze beautifully for up to 60 days. We have a full guide on freezing prepared meals if you want to stock up. The bottom line Fresh, never frozen — cooked weekly in a real kitchen by real people. That's the SmashMeals difference, and it's why our customers say the food actually tastes like food. See this week's fresh menu →