The folks at New York City-based MARLEY SPOON design their recipes around what's in season and portion ingredients precisely to cut down on food waste. Then they donate leftovers to a nonprofit that feeds the hungry. And they have impeccable taste: Seafood comes from sustainable wild fisheries, and other goodies are crafted by local artisans, like ricotta from a small-batch cheese maker in Brooklyn. For those on the East Coast, this box is basically a farmers' market on your doorstep.

Typical entrees: Gouda pancakes with tomato sauce and watercress; horseradish-dill salmon burgers. $62 for three two-person meals.

Andy Levitt managed his Crohn's disease with expensive pharmaceuticals until he found that sticking to a plant-based diet was more effective. "It turned my thinking on its head," he says. He founded THE PURPLE CARROT in 2014 as a way to encourage wary home chefs to try vegan cooking a few nights a week. The service delivers to the eastern United States, and Levitt especially hopes to reach what he calls an "underserved segment," families eating together at home—each box comes with enough ingredients to make dinner for four.

Typical entrees: cashew korma on cauliflower rice; teriyaki tempeh tacos. $59 for two four-person meals.

In the olden days, milkmen delivered glass bottles and fetched the empties for reuse. Inspired by that model, TERRA'S KITCHEN delivers to its West Coast customers a durable, climate-controlled container filled with farm-fresh, non-GMO ingredients, chopped and ready for cooking. Once you've emptied your box, peel the shipping label off—there's a return label underneath. No cardboard necessary.

Typical entrees: skirt-steak chimichurri; lemony penne with broccoli and chickpeas. Around $19 for one two-person meal.

SUN BASKET was founded in part to address CEO Adam Zbar's frustrations with big meal-kit companies, which prize expediency over sustainability. Sun Basket's meals—conceived by San Francisco chef Justine Kelly—are delivered throughout the western United States and are brought to life with seasonal, organic ingredients from West Coast suppliers. The recyclable, compostable packaging can be shipped back to be reused, free of charge.

Typical entrees: corn-and-quinoa chowder; seared-tuna nicoise. $60 for three two-person meals.

GREEN CHEF, which delivers in the western United States, is the only meal-kit service to be certified organic by the USDA. Its impressive record-keeping system allows you to track anything—say, an onion—back to the farm on which it grew. "We trace every piece of food from our suppliers to you," says CEO Michael Joseph. "A brick-and-mortar store can't do that." Farms in Green Chef's broad network of suppliers must satisfy an exhaustive list of integrity and quality checks.

Typical entrees: zucchini-and-ricotta pizza; cumin-dusted wild-caught salmon. Around $80 for three two-person meals.

PEACHDISH delivers nationwide, but it's Southern at heart. Headquartered in Atlanta, the service tends to feature "unloved" vegetables like okra and ugly squash. Each box comes with a sheet detailing which organic farm the ingredients came from, and of course, the company can't showcase Dixie flavors without partnering with local producers. Even PeachDish president Judith Winfrey owns an organic farm, where she grows arugula and tomatoes for her customers.

Typical entrees: chicken breast with field peas and corn bread; butter bean and barley salad. $50 for two two-person meals.