- cross-posted to:
- frugal
- cross-posted to:
- frugal
Too good to go is a service that started in Denmark in 2015, and has since spread to more countries. Its concept is to reduce food waste from unsold surplus in the stores, and instead help the stores sell the produce to frugal/thrifty people at a heavy discount, pretty much in “surprise” bags.
According to Wikipedia it is available in mainly Europe and North America:
As of July 2023 the company Web site covered Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
I’ve seen this around in Sweden from the last year, but there are other similar services here as well, so I haven’t used Too good to go yet (but I intend to do soon). I’ve used Matsmart a couple of times which allows me to pick the products I want, and sometimes bought Lidl’s discounted fruit-and-veg bags (“Ta vara på”) in the store.
I think the concept is really good on a consumer level, even though I can’t say for sure just how much impact it has on reducing surplus or if it’s just another green washing method for the affiliated companies.
While I loved the idea and using it a few years ago, it’s very hit & miss in my city now. Some are great deals, other places especially restaurants are just using it as a coupon app, and the value of what you get isn’t much better than their typical lunchtime deals, but a) you don’t get to choose, b) you have to collect in a very specific time frame, c) everything is old/shortdated or lower quality/wonky.
I really wish they would do a bit more curating of the options, or at least do a better job explaining the concept to the restaurants that sign up. As it is, I’m kinda tired of risking paying £5 for a slice of cold quiche and 2 stale cookies eveytime I try it.
What I’m really into is the fast delivery apps (Gorillas, GoPuff, Getir) all seem to be doing similar bags, and because they carry less selection the items are great. I once got about £100 of steak, minced beef, chicken breast and other goodies for £10. Stocked my freezer for a month.
That meat stuff you got was a real bargain, nice.