Food waste is a major issue in the United States.
Consider the countless buffets, bakeries and supermarkets that discard perfectly usable food every single day.
Two mobile apps — Too Good To Go and Flashfood — are attempting to address that problem by linking businesses with customers willing to buy food approaching its expiration at deep discounts.
It’s a triple win: you score inexpensive food, the business earns extra revenue and less food winds up in landfills.
The main drawback? Both apps operate only in selected U.S. locations.
Below is everything you need to know about Too Good To Go and Flashfood, including where they currently operate.
What Is Too Good To Go?
Too Good To Go is a smartphone platform that links consumers with businesses that have leftover food.
You pick a participating restaurant or shop nearby, then purchase a “surprise bag” filled with surplus items at a reduced price.
Surprise bags typically run $4 to $7 and include food that would otherwise be discarded. These bundles generally cost about one-third of the original retail price.
You pay through the app, then pick up your order during a specified pickup window.
The contents of a surprise bag are a mystery — it might contain four pizza slices, a dozen bagels or a box of organic produce. That unpredictability is part of the appeal for the app’s roughly 54 million global users.
Too Good To Go is well-known in Europe, but in the U.S. it’s currently available in a limited number of cities:
- Austin
- Baltimore
- Boston
- Chicago
- Washington D.C. area
- New York City
- Portland, Maine
- San Francisco Bay Area
- Los Angeles
- Portland, Oregon
- Providence
- Philadelphia
- Seattle
Too Good To Go says it plans to grow its footprint in the U.S., where it is testing collaborations with Safeway and Panera.
The company takes a 25% cut of the revenue restaurants and shops earn through the app. Participating businesses also pay an $89 annual membership fee.
Merchants interested in joining can sign up on Too Good To Go’s site and be set up in about 30 minutes.
How to Use Too Good To Go in 5 Steps
- Install Too Good To Go from the Apple App Store or Google Play.
- Open the app and register an account.
- Add a credit card under Payments.
- Browse nearby merchants with surprise bags and purchase one inside the app.
- Pick up your bag during the allotted pickup window.
Too Good To Go also allows refunds if issues arise with an order, and stores with poor ratings can be removed from the platform.
What You Might Find on Too Good To Go
Jeff Orlick, who lives in Queens, New York, began using Too Good To Go in early 2022.
He’s a fan.
“I’m in New York, so there’s lots of great options,” he said.
Orlick has claimed about 20 surprise bags since joining. His hauls have included everything from generous fish-and-rice plates from a high-end Japanese spot to slightly dried slices of day-old pizza.
He’s never spent over $6 per order, so he feels it’s a bargain.
“I’m just intrigued by the mystery bag,” Orlick said. “The idea is fun to me.”
It’s also sent him to new venues, like upscale eateries in food halls and “fancy bakeries.”
In New York there are many bakery listings on the app, and Orlick has returned home with multiple loaves and dozens of pastries from one run.
Because he freezes baked goods after getting them home, he figures a $4 bakery bag can last him one to two weeks.
When Orlick shared his experiences on Reddit, other users were eager to try it. Most, however, complained about the app’s patchy availability.
As one commenter noted: “It’s pretty much useless outside a few major cities.”
What Is Flashfood?
Think of the clearance shelf with discounted bread, nearing-best-by items and dented cans at your grocery store. Flashfood is a digital tool that helps grocers move those items faster.
The Toronto-founded company, launched in 2016, collaborates with hundreds of U.S. grocery locations — about 727 stores — including big names like Meijer, Giant, Food Lion and SpartanNash, per Flashfood. In August 2022 it reported roughly 2.5 million users.
The app typically offers discounts around 50% on items nearing their sell-by date. Flashfood says regular users can save an average of $540 annually.
Company representatives have also indicated they’re working on enabling EBT (food stamps) as a payment option in the near future.
Flashfood partners with grocers across Canada and in 17 U.S. states, but remember: it’s only active at specific stores and locations.
States that currently have Flashfood stores include:
- Delaware
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Massachusetts
- Maryland
- Michigan
- New York
- Nebraska
- Florida
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- Virginia
- Wisconsin
- West Virginia
Flashfood expected to expand its U.S. footprint in late 2022 after a Northeast partnership, according to Louise Castonguay, the company’s content and community manager.
Use the app to view what items are listed at nearby stores. Each listing shows the original price and the item’s expiration date.
A store can offer anything from produce to meat, dairy, bread or snacks. Listings change often, so check back regularly.
Want something? Add it to your virtual cart and pay within Flashfood. Then pick up your bargains that same day from the store’s designated “Flashfood zone.”
How to Use the Flashfood App in 6 Steps
- Install Flashfood from the Apple App Store or Google Play.
- Open the app and create your account.
- Add a credit card under Payments.
- Use the map to locate a participating store.
- Browse current deals and place your order in the app.
- Pick up your items from the store’s Flashfood area.
If you have an issue with an order, you can email [email protected] or use the support link in the Profile part of the app.
Too Good To Go vs. Flashfood: Which Should You Use?
Both apps aim to reduce waste by offering consumers discounted food.
That said, Flashfood and Too Good To Go use different models.
Try both and see which yields better bargains in your neighborhood. You might find strong offerings on Flashfood but few options on Too Good To Go — availability is still limited for each service.
Too Good To Go vs. Flashfood
| Flashfood | Too Good To Go | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to use app | Free | Free |
| Where does the food come from? | Grocery stores | Restaurants, grocery stores, food trucks, etc. |
| Can you pick the items you want? | Yes | No. You receive a surprise bag. |
| Average discount | About 50% off regular price | About three times less; bags cost about $4–$7 |
| Pay in the app? | Yes | Yes |
| Service areas | 727 U.S. grocery stores in 17 states | 12 U.S. cities |
How These Services Help Cut Food Waste
Between 30% and 40% of the U.S. food supply is wasted every year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says.
Billions of pounds of edible food are discarded into landfills annually — food that could have been used to feed families facing hunger.
A lot of this food is still perfectly safe to eat, but it can be costly and logistically difficult for businesses to store, transport or donate it.
Too Good To Go and Flashfood promote themselves as practical fixes to the expanding food waste challenge by connecting merchants with people willing to buy surplus items.
Flashfood reports its platform has diverted more than 50 million pounds of food from landfills and saved shoppers over $120 million on groceries.
Meanwhile, Too Good To Go says it has prevented the equivalent of 508 million pounds of food from being wasted across 17 countries since 2016.
If you’re keen to further reduce household food waste and save money, check out tips on how to reduce food waste that can complement these apps.
Alex Mercer is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance and a senior writer for Savinly.
