Our verdict on the app which lets you rescue delicious food from being thrown out

Too Good To Go - our verdict on the app which lets you rescue delicious food from being thrown out

My huge Too Good To Go bag which cost less than £4. Credit: Tayte Fordham

Wasting food is a huge problem in the UK – with figures from Cheapwaste.com showing that approximately 6.7 million tonnes is thrown out each year. 

That’s roughly £250-£400 per household. 

There are lots of easy ways to stop wasting food, like only cooking and buying what you need, supporting charities like foodcycle, and getting creative with your leftovers – even if it’s just pizza. 

But there is now an even easier way to help shops, restaurants, and cafes stop throwing all their food away. 

Too Good To Go was first launched in 2015 – and the first meal saved was in Copenhagen in March 2016. 

The food-saving app allows its users to check their local restaurants, cafes, or shops to see if they have any food going spare for a discounted price, at the end of every day. 

Options can range from most supermarkets, like Morrisons and Co-op, to restaurants such as Toby Carvery.

They also cater to users who have allergies and provide both vegan and vegetarian options. 

As a test, I ordered a Toby Carvery on Too Good To Go to see if it was worth the price. 

You have to make sure you are on the app frequently throughout the day if you want to get the best deals – as I found out the hard way. 

It took me three days to try and get a meal from Toby Carvery, since they sell out extremely quickly, as does everything on the app. 

One meal cost me £3.29 in total, rather than the usual £7.29, so – by using Too Good To Go – you are saving over half price on all items. I bought two meals, bringing my cost to £6.58. 

After you reserve and pay for your meal, you’ll be given a collection time to go and collect your un-wasted meal. I went to pick up the food at the allotted time, around 9pm. 

When picking up my food, I wasn’t given a choice as to what was in it – however, this may change depending on where you get it. They do, however, make changes based on dietary requirements.

The package included: turkey, roast potatoes, mashed potato, macaroni and cheese, carrots, peas, broccoli, cauliflower, stuffing and a tub of gravy.

However, the contents do vary from package to package, as it is just what the restaurant has left over from that day.

The items were well packaged in a large brown paper bag, with the main course in a well-sealed plastic tub. The other bits – like roast potatoes and gravy – were in separate compartments.

The meal I had was definitely worth the money I paid. I had more than enough food for dinner – plus it stopped some decent food from going to waste. 

Too Good To Go is definitely the future of stopping food waste and even helps stop global warming. 

One of the food-saving app founders, Mette Lekke, says that Too Good To Go is taking a very entrepreneurial approach to saving food. 

Speaking to Food Navigator, she said that Too Good To Go is revolutionising how food waste is handled: “It’s a win-win for both consumers and retailers.” 

Six years after saving its first meal, Too Good To Go has now saved over 100 million meals and avoided the equivalent of more than 72,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas.