In 2018, the UK produced around 9.5 million tonnes of food waste, a 15% reduction from 2007. However, this is still a huge number that needs to be reduced further.
Too Good To Go is an innovative app that helps raise awareness of food waste. It also helps reduce waste by allowing users to pick up their favourite branded products at a fraction of the price.
What is Too Good To Go?
Too Good To Go is a mobile app founded in 2015 with the primary purpose of reducing food waste across the globe. The app saved its first meal in Copenhagen in 2016 and has since saved over 29 million meals.
Additionally, the app has saved more than 72,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions, has reached an impressive save of one meal per second, and is continuing to expand yearly. It’s a great way to raise awareness on the issues of food waste and help the planet.
Most of the food available through the Too Good To Go app is perfectly good to eat but will end up in landfills just because of its ‘best before date’. To prevent food waste, you can download Too Good To Go app and select your chosen retailer and time slot.
Why food waste is a problem
Food waste has many negative impacts. The first is the amount of non-renewable resources used to produce meat and dairy products. Water, fertilisers, and other natural resources are used for every food product created, and further emissions are created when food is manufactured and then delivered to your local supermarket. When you throw food away, you’re essentially wasting all the resources used to create it.
Secondly, when your discarded food goes into the bin and travels to a landfill, it rots and produces methane, a particularly potent greenhouse gas responsible for driving climate change. It’s estimated that around 6-8% of human-caused greenhouse gases could be reduced if we stopped wasting food.
How preventing food waste helps the planet
Every element of food production, from manufacturing, moving, storing, and cooking, use energy, fuel, and water.
As an example, let’s consider the production process for cheese products. A lot of resources that go into raising the cows to produce milk for making cheese, such as growing food to feed the cows. There’s then the matter of producing and transporting the cheese. Consider also the packaging used and how the products are prepared, then the manpower and fuel used to get products to shops and for customers drive to the shop and make the purchase. This is a lot of effort for one product, especially if the cheese is just thrown away at the end of the week.
To further reduce waste, many brands and retailers are encouraging customers to do ‘sniff tests’, as the best before date on a product is an estimated time. If the product is stored and cared for correctly, it is safe to be consumed after the suggested best before date.
How does Too Good to Go work
When you purchase a Magic Bag via the Too Good To Go app, the seller will choose what you get. Each restaurant or supermarket has a varied range of goods to add to its bags, but you can’t pick a specific range of products. Instead, it’s based on what is left over and is still good to be eaten instead of being thrown away.
Depending on your local area, you will be able to access a wide range of brands which are signed up to help with reducing food waste. These include cafes, restaurants, supermarkets, and convenience stores.
Using the Too Good to Go app is very simple and easy. You can download it for free to your phone through the android or Apple store and allow the app to use your location. Once your location is on it can show you all participating retailers and what bags are available. These bags usually come with a time slot for collection, so ensure you check this to be suitable before proceeding to purchase.
They call it the Magic Bag, as you never really know what you will get. Items can range from fruit and veg to sweet cakes and treats. The best part is they are still good to eat and won’t be going to waste!
Which retailers participate in Too Good to Go
Here in the UK, we have a wide range of retailers participating in Too Good To Go. Ranging from giant chain supermarkets to smaller businesses, what you have access to depends on your local area.
When you download the Too Good To Go app and allow it to identify your location, it will show all participating retailers in your area to choose your favourite. The types of companies offering Magic Bags can be browsed by different categories, such as:
- Vegetarian Magic Bags
- Collect for dinner
- Meals
- Collect tomorrow
- Collect now
- Groceries
- Supermarkets
- Nearby
Having these options on the app accommodates for most dietary requirements and allows buyers to collect at a time that suit them. Download the app today and find your magic bag to do your part and get food at a lower price.
Whenever you fancy a takeaway and are unsure about what you want, consider having a look at Too Good To Go. Many takeaways over-produce portions, but you can download this handy little app and help local businesses reduce food waste.
