TIL there are surplus food apps that can save you big money on groceries
TIL there are surplus food apps that can save you big money on groceries
Millions of dollars of food are thrown away every month by stores and restaurants. Some new apps can find stores and bakeries near you, where you can buy surplus food for pennies on the dollar.
- Too Good to Go
- Flashfood, where you can order groceries nearing their best by dates for up to 50% off, then pick them up in local supermarkets
- Misfits Market
- Olio
Note: I haven't used any of these, I can't speak for them. I do think it's cool for the environment and people on a budget though.
Aaaand they prevent food waste as most of the surplus would be thrown away otherwise.
We have been using Too-Good-To-Go for quite a while now as well as local merchant's initiatives.
It is also fun trying to figure out what to do with the stuff you got!
In my city, only donut shops and bakeries use it. I used it twice to get donuts, which isn't very practical.
I wish more places use it. Like I want to take all the extra rice that they might throw out from Chipotle. Or all the veggies that look weird at a pizza shop.
We have several hotels and company canteens that sell you what is left of breakfast buffet or lunch meals.
You have to bring your own food containers and get it filled to the brim with whatever didn't go so well that day for a fraction of the price you would normally pay there.
Local tax office canteen saved us a lot of cooking ourselves that way :-)
It is also fun trying to figure out what to do with the stuff you got!
Do you mind expanding on that? Do you get fun food to make food out of, or is it already made food that you have to make into something else?
Exotic or unusual ingredients you wouldn't normally use for cooking.
Often also excessive amounts e.g. of bakery stuff that you have no chance of eating yourself and now have to try and distribute it among your friends and neighbours. :-)
Misfit Market will not save you money.
Came here to say this too. It's expensive for what you get.
I tried Flashflood once. Their process is confusing and ended with a store employee being incredibly rude when it was Flashfood's (and to a lesser extent the store's) fault.
Decent concept in theory, terrible execution in my experience with that specific service. It's so much nicer when the store just slaps a sticker on product already on the shelf and knocks down the price.
For me there's always some places that are better for the products i like and sometimes the selection just sucks for a while. The app says i saved $4648 CAD so far XD