Inflation may be cooling a bit, but higher grocery and restaurant prices are sticking around. So what if you could get a business’ leftover food for cheap?
Think about it: When stores, restaurants or bakeries have extra food at the end of the day, a lot of it ends up in the trash. But some new apps are helping them sell some of that surplus food, and in the process save you money.
Baker sells leftover cakes, fruit at deep discount
LaDawn Spivery, owner of a bakery called Sweets by LaDawn, is all in on selling her extra food. She showed us a surplus food treat: a brownie parfait. Several times a week, she releases a "surprise bag" of cupcakes, cookies, fruit and more at deep discounts, leftover food she used to toss out.
"We have a lot of waste from the leftover pineapple, honeydew melons, and strawberries," she said,
Now she sells these treats through the app Too Good to Go, which helps you rescue food from cafes, bakeries or restaurants.
One of her recent deals was an $18 surprise bag of fruit, cupcakes, brownies, and more, selling for just $5.99.
Janee Ward is a Too Good to Go customer.
"I usually get up in the morning just to see what's out there," she said.
She is always on the lookout for deals, which change from day to day.
"You just gotta catch it," Ward said.
Besides Too Good to Go, other food waste apps include:
- Flashfood, where you can order groceries nearing their best by dates for up to 50% off, then pick them up in local supermarkets
- Misfits Market
- Olio
Keep in mind, though, you don't always know exactly what you're getting. That's why they call them "surprise" bags. And not all apps may be in your area just yet.
Flashfood, for instance, primarily serves the Midwest and East Coast. Too Good to Go is expanding nationwide, however, thanks to a partnership with Whole Foods.
Sarah Soteroff of Too Good to Go said, "We are growing every single day. We have around 21,000 partners across the country who are saving food with us, and that number continues to grow and grow."
In the end, you help cut down on waste and get a great deal. At Sweets by LaDawn, you can get "what we deem to be $18 worth," Spivery said, "for $6."
So give a surplus food app a try, and that way you don't waste your money.
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