Food waste is a huge problem: In the U.S., 40% of perfectly edible food ends up in the trash, while food waste contributes to 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions globally. Just launched in Miami, the Too Good To Go app aims to combat food waste while helping businesses recoup lost revenue and giving customers access to big savings.
Too Good to Go was born in Europe in 2016 after co-founder Lucie Basch witnessed the scale of food waste firsthand at her job in food processing. Since then, it’s become the world’s number-one food waste-fighting app, with popular U.S. markets in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, and now Miami.
As of last week, over 60 Miami restaurants, cafes and supermarkets are already offering up sweet surplus deals via Too Good To Go, including prepared meals, groceries, baked goods, beverages and produce. Think El Bagel leftovers (is that an oxymoron?), specialty coffee from Fincas, homemade loaves from Sullivan Street, pizza from Evio’s and lots more.
The app is pretty straightforward: Login, select your area and browse from participating partners nearby. You’ll be able to select from dozens of “surprise bags” featuring an assortment of discounted items from that day. For example, the bag from El Bagel currently goes $3.99 and contains $12 worth of items; the Panther Coffee bag is $4.99 on the app and contains $15 worth of goodies. All of the items are fresh and ready for the rescue—and who doesn't love a surprise?
Check out in the app and reference the pick-up window so you know when to go claim your items. It can range from same-day to next-day pickups. You’re also encouraged to bring your own carry-out bags, though most places will have them available for you just in case.
Too Good To Go has helped earn partners $17M from the food they would have thrown away and saved customers $50M for the food they would have otherwise paid full price for. Even better, the app is helping to make the planet a better place, and that all sounds like a pretty big win-win-win to us.
