Vancouver's The Georgia Straight, a weekly free magazine-newspaper blend, included a great article on Easy Meal Assembly Kitchens in its May 4, 2006 issue. Profiling Vancouver's DinnerWorks kitchen, The Straight praised the Easy Meal Prep process.

"...our culture is almost pathologically obsessed with food and we know we should eat fresh and homemade all the time, [but] the irony is that there’s no one at home to make it, which is why — pause to draw breath — the meal-assembly centre is a concept whose time has come."

Interestingly, The Straight provides that while the American Easy Meal Assembly business focuses on "bringing the family back to the dinner table," the customer base is far more varied in Vancouver.

"Instead, it's BCIT and UBC students, Yaletowners in their 20s, the broad sweep of ethnic communities that typifies this city, clients from as far afield as Squamish and Abbotsford, and corporate groups who use meal assembly as a team-building exercise."

It is clear that meal assembly is not as much of a niche market as early projections assumed; it's for everyone, from the starving student with few kitchen supplies to the office team looking for a practical and social atmosphere in which to bond. These atypical customers, as well, do not have the same access to large kitchens and large amounts of freezer space as the typical American family; as a result, Easy Meal Prep businesses are starting to offer meals in singles.

Traditionally the Easy Meal Assembly Kitchen sells meals only by the family size -- four to six entrees per meal. This doesn't work so well for a bachelor in a 500 square foot apartment with only the smallest of freezers in which to keep the meals. The businesses have had to scale down to match their client base.

As with most logical arguments, the Straight finishes with finances.

"Even the math makes sense. Most dishes cost $30 plus GST for six servings. (Staff will also assemble and deliver for an extra charge.) Granted, you sometimes need a starch or a loaf of bread and a green salad to round out the meal. But even so, divide it by six - four if you're greedy - and the cost per person is still below ordering in pizza or Chinese. What's more, and this to me is the critical selling feature, you know exactly what's in it."