Saving Food Waste with Too Good to Go App

I’ve had the Too Good to Go app on my phone for a while and have had the good intentions to use it but just haven’t gotten around to it until recently. We are once again shaking up our finances and finding ways to save money and reduce our outgoings. Over the last 18 months or so takeaways and small £30-40 shops have increased and it’s gotten a bit out of control. One of the things we thought would be a good meet in the middle would be to try using Too Good to Go more often as it allows us to have some treats at a cheap price and save food going to waste from retailers.

What is Too Good To Go

It’s an App available on the App Store (for iPhone users – I’m sure there is an android version too) which brings the local community and retailers together to help reduce food waste. Retailers, such as Costa, Starbucks and M&S will put together ‘Magic’ bags of reduced food at the end of the day at a huge discount. There are limited quantities each day and the app has different offers throughout the day so it’s worth checking regularly. Over the last week we’ve tried three different retailers to get a feel for the sort of thing included. The App is easy to use, you can pay with Apple Pay and it will even link you to Google maps so you can triple check the location of the store. It’s really handy to use, very effecient and a really good idea. I hope more retailers come to use it because it could benefit so many people that are going to struggle to afford food this winter. The great thing is its mostly ready made food that doesn’t require cooking but the thing you might not like is the fact that you can’t choose what you get and it might not be to your taste or contain allergens. It’s a great thing if you don’t mind what you’re going to get though! The Too Good to Go App is free to download and free to sign up to. Registration is easy. Below is a simple screenshot of the App with the first step of how it works.

Basically, if you like to hunt down a bargain in the reduced section of the supermarket then this app is a must have. We all know food has a ‘sell by’ date but that doesn’t mean it isn’t safe to eat the same or even sometimes the next day and some things can readily be frozen. This app helps make bargain hunting for these reduced items really simple and can really help make lunches affordable.

Our Experience using Too Good to Go

We’ve now used Too Good to Go for three different retailers so far recently and have had a really good experience. Each ‘magic bag’ from Too Good to Go has been less than £5 and has provided more than enough lunch and treats for my family. I would really like to try a bag from a supermarket as I’ve seen M&S and Morrisons use the app to help reduce food waste. I have gotten a bag from Costa which had two toasties and two muffins, a bag from Greggs which had two sandwiches, a slice, a pastry and two chelsea buns, and a box from a local bakery which had about five fancy cupcakes. I have been really impressed with the quality of the food.

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So this is a lot of baked goods which, okay, might not be brilliant to consume on a daily basis which is why I’m keen to see what supermarkets include in their magic bags as I think that could help add some versatility to meals and recipes, or encourage people to try things they might not have done so before. Having sandwiches included is such a good idea as that covers lunch the next day and doesn’t require cooking. I just think we are probably in for a harsh winter and apps like this can help families or even young people, students for example; that are struggling to afford all the things. Too Good To Go is helping to provide food for people from places many would consider a luxury to have on a regular basis.

The Sustainability of Reducing Food Waste

Food waste is a massive issue for sustainability. We throw away way too much food and in a climate where the governement doesn’t care about providing primary school children with lunch families are going to struggle more than ever. I’ve talked before about people not only being financially poor but also time poor and living in a state of relative poverty which means they might not be able to afford to fuel their kitchen this winter. Apps like this and places that offer a solution to reducing food waste alongside providing food at a hugely discounted rate working in partnership is a great thing for sustainability and helping those in poverty. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again but nothing is sustainable unless it is completely inclusive of people in poverty. The more people that use the app, the more businesses will partnership and the more accessible and available food will become to those that need it and hopefully we will see a reduction in food waste.

In terms of packaging the only things that were wrapped in plastic were the sandwiches and toasties. Everything else was in paper bags or boxes.