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Do you love great food and want to find more ways to become more eco-friendly to the planet? Well, Too Good To Go might soon become your new favorite app! The app sells leftovers from restaurants, minimizing food waste and supporting local businesses. Read on to find out more...
Too Good To Go - An App With A Mission
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No questions asked: Too Good To Go has many goals it wants to accomplish. But the biggest? Saving our planet, one food order at a time. How are they going to do it? By selling surplus food from restaurants that need to rid themselves of it. Instead of throwing it away, they pass the savings on to you! "Our app is the most direct way for you to get involved—just download, log on, and get saving perfectly good, surplus food from your local stores," the official website reads. "It's always a surprise and an instant good deed for the planet."
Now available in more than 13 cities across the United States, including New York, Boston, San Fransisco, Chicago, and more, the app has partnered with more than 6,000 restaurants and food stores! The app does not only help you save money, it supports local restaurants from losing money, strengthening the economy. "We give our partners the opportunity to make additional profit, while also getting exposed to new customers and becoming a player within the sustainability agenda," Too Good To Go explains.
In the future, Too Good To Go wants to move into even more parts of the food supply chain, helping stop food waste at every level. But, for now, the app will remain focused on restaurants. So far, the company has helped save over 35 million meals from ending up in the trash. That's quite the feat, as just under 40% of all food purchased by restaurants end up in the garbage either through expiration, food left on plates, uneaten leftovers, and the like. Too Good To Go hopes to lower that number by a large margin!
Using The App
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Okay, so no questions asked, Too Good To Go sounds like a fantastic app. However, we know what you're wondering: how does it hold up in real life? Well, Angela L. Pagán and Dennis Lee of The Takeout tested the app and its offerings. The two food writers first tried a coffee shop, where they managed to buy two Halloween leftover cupcakes and a beignet for just $3.99, as well as a few other locations.
"The next few surprise bags I scored were quite fruitful and because I decided that the contents would cover me for the following day, I ended up with much more than I even needed," Pagán wrote. "For just $7.98 I scored five different muffins, a croissant, and two sodas from a cafe that was about a 10-minute bus ride away."
Still, while the deals and food are amazing, the app developers are clear: this isn't perfect for daily meals. At least not yet. "Typically a lot of our partners will list their surprise bags for the next day immediately after the pickup window closes," she added. Also, many restaurants give out leftovers after closing, based on what they have available. However, with a bit of planning, you can undoubtedly change the way you eat, all while saving the planet, all thanks to Too Good To Go!
Sources: The Guide Liverpool, The Takeout
