Can you survive on food waste apps? Someone in Metro Vancouver is testing it out
An experiment is underway in Metro Vancouver to try and test a theory: Can you survive and thrive on food waste apps to save money on food?
Reddit user Legal_Safe4407 says they are only purchasing food from several food waste prevention applications, such as Karma and Too GoodToGo, for the foreseeable future.
“Heyoo, I’m doing a little experiment where I only purchased food from several food waste prevention applications… Today this morning, using TooGood, I purchased a surprise bag from Tim Hortons; here’s what was inside.”
Surviving on Food Waste in Surrey (day 1)
byu/Legal_Safe4407 inSurreyBC
The apps all work relatively the same, offering users a list of restaurants in their area with a food surplus. The restaurants will then gather the food in “surprise bags” and sell them at a lower price than you can buy from the app.
Food waste spotted on the Grouse Grind (Metro Vancouver Regional District)
The Reddit user said their first purchase was a surprise bag from Tim Hortons for only $4.99.
According to Statistics Canada, the cost of food across the country has increased 5.90% in September 2023 over the same month in the previous year and is predicted to increase.
“Surprisingly, I caught a lot of hate for posting this in the Van sub, lmao. I will definitely continue shilling this a bit, though, because at the end of the day, I really appreciate what this company is doing, and I’m also the kind of person that enjoys saving money on extras,” they wrote.
“Once, I used the TGTG app and picked up a surprise bag from Rocky Mountain Chocolatier, and they had given me almost a dozen candy apples.”
Several others agreed with the experiment. One user, Annanymous, responded with their experience using food waste apps.
“I’ve used TooGoodtoGo once in a Freshslice in North Van. I think I had a whole large-sized pizza for $9 and was reheated. My gripe with it was that it was pretty dry from the heating lamp the whole day before.”
The Reddit user said he feels good about giving leftover food a purpose.
“I highly recommend using TooGoodToGo; not only do you reduce emissions, you get to feel good about rescuing some food before it gets thrown out. If more people used this application and knew about it, we would reduce so much food waste,” they wrote.
It’s not only restaurants that are trying to keep food from going to waste. Several other food waste initiatives are also tapping into the waste reduction market.
Unaffordability concerns on the rise
Food Stash, which offers grocery-store items, told Daily Hive it had seen an increase in people using the service in the past year in Vancouver.
The registered charity delivers food boxes to households and other charities.
“We’re preventing food waste and helping people who really need our help,” said Food Stash communications specialist Anna Gray.
She said that while working as a server in Vancouver, she first noticed the amount of wasted food and was inspired to make a more significant impact on the community.
The company was established in 2016 and works with grocery stores instead of restaurants.
“We collect odds and ends of boxes of food, maybe some milk sometimes,” Gray explained, adding, “We also help run a community fridge in the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood where people are welcome to drop off food and take food if they need it.”
The community fridge at Food Stash Vancouver (Anna Gray)
Addressing the increase in Vancouver users, she said the program is currently full.
“Our rescued food market has been at capacity since last year, and we don’t have any plans to open our waitlist. On October 12, we onboarded 140 members, and we already have 98 people on the waitlist for the next cohort in January.”
Gray encourages the use of food waste apps because it gives people a chance to support their local vendors.
“I mean, personally, I love to use TooGoodToGo. I think it’s a really great way to discover some new bakeries around me, like locally, that now I like to shop out as well.”
The question of whether one can survive solely on food waste apps is a complex one and may depend on several factors, such as the availability of surplus food in the area, the variety of food offered, and individual dietary needs.
While you may be able to find good deals on surplus food through these apps, it stands to be seen if one could rely solely on them to meet their nutritional needs in the long run.
Do you think food waste initiatives are an approachable way for people to cut grocery costs?
Let us know in the comments.
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