New app offers a tasty way to save the planet

The world wastes one third of all food that is produced annually, totaling a staggering one trillion dollars, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). To combat the cost of our throw-away culture, a new app calledToo Good To Goenables eateries in the UK to sell leftover food that would otherwise have been binned. The dishes are sold for discount prices, some of which are under half price. Users of the app pay via a bank card and collect the food during a designated timeslot, which is often after lunch, dinner or when the restaurant, café or bakery is closed. Chris Wilson, co-founder of the app, explains how Too Good To Go could even help save the environment.

Why did you decide to create Too Good To Go?

We set up Too Good To Go first and foremost as a platform to highlight the vast amounts of edible food wasted yearly by UK restaurants. By making this available through our app, we are offering a means of proving that much of what we waste as a society is not actually ‘waste’ at all, but actually perfectly edible food that we should be appreciating as our most valuable energy resource.

Could Good Too Go help the environment?

Too Good To Go is also founded on green goals that aim to make a more sustainable use of our resources in order to stop putting so much pressure on our environment, while at the same time making good, expertly-prepared food accessible to more people.

How do I order?

Download the Too Good To Go app and the home screen will show you the restaurants, cafes and bakeries closest to you, which have food available for collection. Choose the restaurant that takes your fancy, check out and receive your order confirmation. If you order from the app, your receipt will be saved automatically in the ‘My Purchases’ tab at the bottom, while ordering from a desktop means you’ll get an email receipt. Then head to the restaurant at the designated time and show your app confirmation or email receipt to get your takeaway box — easy.

What kind of service can I expect at the restaurant?

Some restaurants will fill up a takeaway box for you, and at some restaurants you can fill your own container. The restaurant description section of the app will let you know whether you’ll fill up the box yourself or if the staff will do it for you.

Why is there a designated time period where I have to come?

Just before the restaurant closes, there will be surplus food which is usually carelessly thrown away unless a savior comes to the rescue. The collection time for the food will usually be a 15 to 30 minute window just before the restaurant or cafe’s end of service. Check out when you can pick up the food in the restaurant description.

What is in the future for Too Good Too?

Our immediate hopes are to roll the app out nationwide and add to the number of participating restaurants, cafes and bakeries in London, Brighton, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester as we look to save as much food as possible from being sent to landfill.