App sells leftovers from restaurants, bakeries, grocery stores to help reduce food waste
Surging food prices have prompted many people to search for ways to cut costs, and some shoppers are finding deals through an app that also aims to reduce food waste.
Too Good To Go connects customers with grocery stores, restaurants and bakeries that sell surplus food left at the end of the day at deep discounts.
Consumers can use the app's map feature to discover participating businesses, go in during a defined pickup window and purchase a so-called "surprise bag" of leftovers.
Too Good to Go spokesperson Sarah Soteroff says surprise bags range in price from about $4 to $12 but contain items that would previously have sold for about triple the price.
On Wednesday, Statistics Canada announced that November’s inflation rate was 6.8 per cent, down from 6.9 per cent in October and September. Grocery costs rose 11.4 per cent annually in November, up from 11 per cent in October.
Shabina Dewji, a local blogger, is one of Too Good To Go's many users, and says she has been saving money from buying leftovers.
"I saw lettuce for $11 – that's insane,” she said. "I've never paid that much for lettuce in my life.
"I am doing more of the 'what's on sale, where is it cheaper, where can I get deals?'”
Dewji says she tried a "surprise bag" from a grocery store first.
"I was surprised at how good the quality was," she said. "I think I paid $5 for a bag full of vegetables, and they were fresh, they were great."
"I was like, 'this is awesome. I'm saving the environment, food waste, and I'm saving money.'”
Dewji says she's also had a good experience getting bags of leftovers from several bakeries and restaurants.
The app launched in Calgary earlier this year.
In its first six months, Too Good To Go says food diverted from local landfills adds up to the height of 61 Calgary Towers.
"In Calgary specifically, we've saved more than 33,000 meals from 180 food businesses," Soteroff said.
One Calgary business taking part is Righteous Gelato.
"We’re diverting food waste away from landfills and making sure that people have an opportunity to try the product when maybe it's a bit inaccessible based on price," said owner James Boettcher.
Dewji says reduced prices have encouraged her to support local businesses she hadn’t tried before, and on average she uses the app once a week.
"I look at what the restaurant is selling in general, and then if I like 90% of it, I'll buy it."
Dewji says there is usually enough food to share, save or freeze.
"Now I'm trying to repurpose my leftovers," she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in U.S. if legal options fail, Reuters sources say
TikTok owner ByteDance would prefer to shut down its loss-making app rather than sell it if the Chinese company exhausts all legal options to fight legislation to ban the platform from app stores in the U.S., four sources said.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.