Everything you need to know about how The Fresh 20 meal plan works, what is included, and how to get started. If you cannot find your answer here, our team is one email away at support@thefresh20.zendesk.com.
Reviewed by Melissa Lanz, founder of The Fresh 20 and author of The Fresh 20 Cookbook. Last updated June 2026.
On this page: About The Fresh 20 · The weekly meal plans · The Mediterranean (Blue Zone) meal plan · Kitchen Passport · Bundles and Lifetime Access · Pricing, billing, and renewals · Cancellation and refunds · Your account and access · Gifts and contact
About The Fresh 20
What is The Fresh 20?
The Fresh 20 is a meal-planning service that gives you a complete week of dinners built around 20 fresh, seasonal ingredients. Every week you receive five dinner recipes, one organized shopping list, and a simple prep guide, so the question of what is for dinner is answered before you walk into the kitchen. Founder Melissa Lanz started The Fresh 20 on April 23, 2010, and the company is operated by Freshly, Inc. You can see how the weekly system works before you sign up.
Is The Fresh 20 a meal kit or a meal plan?
The Fresh 20 is a meal plan, not a meal kit. We do not ship boxes of pre-portioned food. We give you the plan, the recipes, and a single shopping list, and you buy the fresh ingredients yourself at your own grocery store. That keeps your food fresh, skips the packaging waste of meal kits, and usually costs far less per meal.
Does The Fresh 20 deliver food or groceries?
No. The Fresh 20 does not deliver food or groceries. You receive a digital meal plan and a shopping list each week, then shop for the fresh ingredients yourself. This is what lets you choose your own store, your own brands, and your own budget.
How is The Fresh 20 different from meal kits like HelloFresh or Blue Apron?
The difference is that The Fresh 20 gives you the plan, not the box. Meal kits ship pre-portioned ingredients at a high cost per meal with a lot of packaging. The Fresh 20 sends a weekly plan built around 20 fresh ingredients that cross-use across all five dinners, so nothing goes to waste, you shop once, and you cook real food from your own kitchen. You stay in control of cost and quality, and there is no box to break down and recycle. You can compare plans and pricing to see exactly what each option costs.
How much does The Fresh 20 cost?
The annual Core meal plan is $87 a year, which works out to about $1.67 a week, and the Mediterranean meal plan is also $87 a year. Monthly and quarterly options are available for the Core plans, with the current rate for each shown at checkout, since subscription prices can move during a sale. Kitchen Passport is a one-time purchase rather than a subscription, at $25 for a single country or $149 for the full twelve-country program. You can compare every plan side by side or try a full week free, with no credit card, before you decide.
Will The Fresh 20 save me money on groceries?
Customers report saving an average of $125 or more a month on their grocery bill after switching to The Fresh 20. The savings come from buying 20 ingredients that cross-use across all five dinners, so you shop once and waste almost nothing, instead of paying the high per-meal cost of a meal-kit box. This is what customers tell us, not a guaranteed result, and your own savings will depend on your store and your household.
Can I try The Fresh 20 for free?
Yes. You can get one complete week free, with no credit card required. A free week includes five dinner recipes, the shopping list, and the prep guide, exactly what a paying subscriber gets that week, delivered as a PDF you can cook from right away. Free weeks are available for both the Classic plan and the Mediterranean plan, and they are the best way to see if the rhythm works for your household before paying anything.
The weekly meal plans
What is included in a weekly meal plan?
Each weekly plan includes five dinner recipes, one shopping list organized for a single grocery trip, and a prep guide that makes weeknight cooking faster. The recipes are built around 20 fresh, seasonal ingredients used across all five dinners, which is what keeps waste close to zero. Active subscribers also get the full plan archive on the members site and seasonal cooking playlists on Spotify and Apple Music.
What dietary plans do you offer?
We offer six Core weekly plans, Classic, Paleo, Vegan, Gluten-Free, Vegetarian, and For One, plus the separate Mediterranean plan. Every Core plan follows the same 20-ingredient, five-dinner structure, just built around a different dietary framework. For One is scaled for single-person households.
Can I switch between meal plans?
Yes. The All Access Pass lets you switch between all six Core plans anytime, so you can cook Classic one week and Paleo or Vegetarian the next. A single-plan subscription stays on the plan you chose, while the All Access Pass is built for households that want to move between dietary styles. You can see what the All Access Pass includes and decide which fits.
How long do the recipes take to cook?
Most weeknight dinners take about 20 to 30 minutes. If you do a little batch prep over the weekend using the included prep guide, weeknight cooking lands closer to 20 minutes. If you skip the prep and cook fresh each evening, plan for about 30.
Do I have to cook all five dinners every week?
No. You decide how many of the five dinners to cook each week, and many households cook all five while others choose three or four. The plan is built so the 20 ingredients cross-use across all five dinners, so cooking the full week is how the zero-waste design pays off, but nothing requires it. It is your kitchen and your week.
Do I need special equipment or hard-to-find ingredients?
No. The Fresh 20 is built around everyday grocery-store ingredients and standard kitchen equipment. The whole system relies on fresh, seasonal staples you can find at any normal market, with no specialty gear required.
Can I customize recipes or swap ingredients?
The plans are designed to be followed as written, because the zero-waste structure depends on each of the 20 ingredients having a specific job across the week. You are always free to adjust at home for your own taste or allergies, but the shopping list and prep sequence are built to work as given.
Is The Fresh 20 good for picky eaters?
It can be, and many households that describe themselves as picky-eater homes find that the steady weekly variety gradually widens what their family will eat. The Classic and Paleo plans use the most familiar flavors and proteins and tend to be the easiest starting point. A free week is the best way to find out how your table responds before committing.
Is the Gluten-Free plan safe for celiac disease?
The Gluten-Free plan is designed to be free of gluten-containing ingredients in every recipe, every week. We do not operate a certified gluten-free facility, so anyone with celiac disease should review each week’s ingredients themselves and check with their doctor or a registered dietitian before starting.
Can I cook for just one person, or for a larger family?
Yes. The For One plan is scaled specifically for single-person households, and the other plans are built for a family of four that you can scale up or down. Pick the plan that matches your household and adjust portions as needed.
The Mediterranean (Blue Zone) meal plan
What is the Mediterranean meal plan?
The Mediterranean meal plan is an annual meal plan built around the way people cook and eat in the Mediterranean’s Blue Zone regions, such as Ikaria in Greece. It moves through the seasons and regions across the year, with vegetable-forward dinners rooted in real regional cooking, along with seafood and poultry. It is a separate plan from the Core weekly plans, with its own structure and storytelling.
What is included in the Mediterranean plan?
Each Mediterranean week includes five dinner recipes, an organized shopping list, and prep guides, along with regional storytelling for the featured destination. The full paid plan also brings seasonal touches like wine pairings, playlists, and regional highlights. It is delivered through the members site for active subscribers.
How is the Mediterranean plan different from the Core plans?
The Core plans share one common 20-ingredient weekly system across six dietary styles, while the Mediterranean plan is a year-long seasonal rotation through Mediterranean regions, built differently from the ground up. The Mediterranean plan leans vegetable-forward with seafood and poultry, carries regional storytelling, and is sold as an annual plan rather than monthly or quarterly.
Why is the Mediterranean plan annual only?
The Mediterranean plan is built as a year-long journey through the seasons and regions, so it is offered annually to match how the content is designed to unfold across the year. The base rate is $87 a year, which works out to about $1.67 a week, and the current rate is shown at checkout since it can move during a sale.
Is the Mediterranean plan included in the All Access Pass?
No. The Mediterranean plan is not part of the All Access Pass. The All Access Pass covers the six Core weekly plans, which share a common system, while the Mediterranean plan was built entirely differently and is sold separately. If you want both, you can subscribe to each on its own, or choose the All Access Pass Plus or Lifetime Access, both of which include Mediterranean.
Kitchen Passport
What is Kitchen Passport?
Kitchen Passport is a one-time purchase that turns dinner into a guided trip around the world, one country at a time. Each country comes with a complete dinner-party experience, the recipes from cocktail through dessert, printable menu cards, a regional playlist, food and culture notes, decor inspiration, a hosting timeline, and customizable invitations. It is made for gathering people around your table, not for weeknight meal planning.
Is Kitchen Passport a subscription?
No. Kitchen Passport is not a subscription and it does not auto-renew. You buy it once. A single country is $25, and the full twelve-country program is $149 for the year. Because it is a one-time purchase, there is no recurring charge to remember or cancel.
How does Kitchen Passport work?
You can buy one country for $25 or the full twelve-country program for $149, which unlocks one new country on the first of each month. At $149 for twelve countries, the full program works out to about $12 a country, compared to $25 bought one at a time. If you join the full program partway through the year, you immediately receive every country released so far, and once a country is unlocked in your account, it stays yours. You can see every country on the Kitchen Passport page.
Which Kitchen Passport countries can I buy on their own?
Three countries, Italy, France, and Mexico, are always available to buy individually for $25 each. The other countries release one per month and can be bought on their own only during their release month. After that month ends, a country remains available inside the full twelve-country program.
Do I keep my Kitchen Passport countries forever?
Yes. Every country you unlock is yours permanently, even if you do not renew the next year. A country is never taken away from you. After its release month it simply stops being sold on its own, but anything already in your account stays there for good.
Bundles and Lifetime Access
What is the All Access Pass?
The All Access Pass is an annual subscription that includes all six Core weekly meal plans, Classic, Paleo, Vegan, Gluten-Free, Vegetarian, and For One. It is the step up for people who want to move between dietary styles instead of staying on one, and it lets you switch plans anytime. The base rate is $135 a year, which works out to about $2.60 a week, and the current rate is shown at checkout. It does not include the Mediterranean plan, and you can see everything in the All Access Pass.
What is the All Access Pass Plus?
The All Access Pass Plus includes the six Core plans and the Mediterranean plan together in one annual subscription. It is for people who want everything the weekly plans offer plus the Mediterranean journey. The current rate is shown at checkout. You can see what is included in the All Access Pass Plus.
What is Lifetime Access?
Lifetime Access is a one-time purchase at $399 that gives you all seven meal plans, the six Core plans plus Mediterranean, along with the full recipe archive, the complete cooking-guide collection, the e-book library, and member perks, with no renewals ever. At $399 one time, it costs less than two years of the All Access Pass at $135 a year plus the Mediterranean plan at $87 a year, and every year after that costs nothing. It is built for long-term members who would rather pay once, and it does not include Kitchen Passport. The current rate is shown at checkout, and you can see the full details on the Lifetime Access page.
Pricing, billing, and renewals
Will my price go up when I renew?
No. The price you pay when you sign up is your permanent renewal price, and it never increases. We call this the price-lock guarantee. If you start at $87 a year, you renew at $87 a year, for as long as you stay subscribed. You can compare all plans and pricing in one place.
How does billing work?
Subscriptions renew automatically at the same rate you started with, on the cycle you chose, whether monthly, quarterly, or annual. Before an annual renewal, you receive a reminder so the charge is never a surprise. One-time purchases like Kitchen Passport and Lifetime Access do not renew at all.
Will I get a reminder before a renewal charge?
Yes. You receive a renewal reminder before an annual subscription renews, so you have time to make a change if you want one.
Cancellation and refunds
How do I cancel my subscription?
You can cancel anytime from your account under My Account, then Cancel. There is no cancellation fee, and you keep access through the end of the period you have already paid for. Canceling simply stops future renewals.
What happens to my access when I cancel?
Your access continues through the end of your current paid billing period. If you cancel on day 15 of a monthly plan, you keep access through day 30. One-time purchases stay in your account permanently, while the weekly plan archive is tied to an active subscription.
What is your refund policy?
Every paid product carries a 7-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked. New subscribers can get a full refund within seven days of their first purchase, and one-time purchases like Kitchen Passport and Lifetime Access carry the same seven-day window. For a renewal charge, a refund minus a $5 fee may be issued within seven days of the renewal date. After seven days, refunds are not available, and if a refund is issued, access ends immediately, because the refund voids the subscription.
I was charged for a renewal I forgot about. Can I get a refund?
If it is within seven days of the renewal date, we can usually issue a refund minus the $5 fee as a goodwill gesture. After seven days from the renewal date, a refund is not available. A renewal reminder goes out beforehand to help you avoid an unwanted charge.
Can I pause my subscription?
There is no pause feature. If you need a break, you can cancel and re-subscribe later, but keep in mind that re-subscribing starts a new subscription at whatever price is available then, which may differ from your locked-in rate. Many members choose to stay subscribed through slower seasons to keep their original price.
Will I keep my locked-in price if I cancel and come back?
No. Canceling ends your original subscription and its locked-in price. If you re-subscribe later, you start fresh at whatever rate is current at that time. If keeping your original price matters to you, staying subscribed is better than canceling and returning.
Your account and access
When do I get access after I subscribe?
Right away. Within minutes of subscribing, a login email arrives, and once you log in, the current week’s plan, shopping list, and prep guide are available immediately. If you do not see the email within about ten minutes, check your spam folder or the Gmail Promotions tab.
Where do I find my weekly meal plans?
Log in at members.thefresh20.com and your current plan is under My Plans. A new plan posts every Friday at 12:00pm Pacific, so you always know next week’s dinners before the current week runs out.
Where do I find products I purchased, like Kitchen Passport or e-books?
Log in and go to My Products, then find the product and click the first bold word at the top of its listing to open it. The link is that first bold word, not the product name, which trips a few people up.
Can I use The Fresh 20 on my phone?
Yes. Everything is digital and works in any web browser on any device, whether phone, tablet, or computer. The plans are also printable if you prefer cooking from paper.
Is there a limit on devices?
Yes. An account works on up to two devices at a time. If you reach the limit and need to switch, our customer service team can reset your devices for you.
Can I still see my recipes after I cancel?
The weekly plan archive is available while your subscription is active. One-time purchases, including e-books, cooking guides, and Kitchen Passport countries, stay in your account permanently no matter your subscription status.
Gifts and contact
Can I give The Fresh 20 as a gift?
Yes. Gift certificates are available, and many people give Kitchen Passport or the cookbook as a tangible way to introduce someone to The Fresh 20. The current gift options and rates are shown at checkout.
Does The Fresh 20 have an affiliate program?
Yes. The Partners Program pays a 15% lifetime commission on every subscription renewal you refer, for as long as that subscriber stays active, and it is free to join. It is open to current subscribers, food bloggers, and creators whose audience overlaps with ours. You can join through the Partners page or by contacting our team.
How do I reach customer service?
You can reach our team by email at support@thefresh20.zendesk.com or through the help center at thefresh20.zendesk.com. We are glad to help with account questions, device resets, billing, and anything else you need.
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