I'm Obsessed With Too Good To Go, The Food-Waste Eliminating App. Here's How I'm Making The Most Of It And Saving Money
Not too long ago, I was running into a not-so-great pattern where I didn't have enough on my debit card to get me through the end of the month, and had to pull cash from my savings.
What exactly was I spending too much on? It turned out to be food. Those boozy brunches, Friday night fancy dinners, and those "too good to pass up" deals in bulk at my neighborhood Grocery Outlet were gobbling up my monthly funds. Not to mention everything just costs more, thanks to sky-high inflation.
To help save on food costs, I've been using the Too Good to Go (TGTG) online platform and app since it launched last year in LA — probably more than I should.
Basically, the app partners with local restaurants, bakeries, and coffee shops to sell you "surprise bags" that are day's-end leftovers. You're getting a heap of food for a fraction of the price, and each bag usually goes for about $5 to $8.
Since I'm basically an expert on the app now, here are my tips for getting the most out of Too Good to Go:
1. Be cool with not knowing what you're going to get.
While you can typically expect a bag of day-end or day-old goodies, what you get can vary. You'll just have to make peace — or even get excited by — that element of surprise.
Some hints can be found in the "What you could get" section of each restaurant's TGTG profile, but just like in matters of love, expect no guarantees.
At least where I live, I've found there to be mainly bakeries, coffee shops, and pizza places. So more often than not, expect pastries, bagels, donuts, pizza slices, and bread. More restaurants and buffets are popping up on the app, and so on occasion, I've a breakfast dish or soup or salad. Produce and packaged goodies are even more rare finds.
I've bought bags from the same coffee shop, same location and everything. One pickup, I got breakfast burritos, sandwiches, yogurt, and almond croissants. The next time? A half dozen water bagels.
What you receive really hinges on whatever doesn't get sold, and that varies day to day. Plus, these surprise bags are offered in limited quantities, so once they get snatched up, they're gone. You'll need to keep an eye for when they're up for grabs next.
2. Plan pickups around your schedule.
Typically, there's a pickup window to grab your food, and can be anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour around closing time. Some establishments have a more liberal time period to pick up that stretches out for several hours.
These places are pretty strict about the pickup times. After all, they're closing shop and don't want to be waiting on anyone at that hour.
As there aren't too many T2TG locations near me, I do my research ahead of time, scroll through the spots on my "favorites list," and link a pickup with some errands. For instance, if I'm doing some yoga or taking a dance class in Highland Park, I'll choose a pickup that's after my class in the same 'hood. Or I'll grab a surprise bag on my way to a potluck.
Otherwise, you'll be wasting time and gas driving an hour to grab some food, just to save some bucks. (I've been that person, and trust me, it's not worth it.)
3. Freeze what you can't eat right away.
I did mention that you most likely will get a bunch of carbs, yes? I'm taking a dozen-plus donuts, in some instances. For those surprise bags where I have four too many croissants to devour in one sitting, I've gifted a few to my neighbors and members of my Buy Nothing group, but typically will freeze those babies.
Before freezing those pastries or pizza slices, I'll wrap them tightly in foil, plastic, or an air-tight container. Here's how long you can freeze food for before they go bad:
+Pizza slices: two months
+Bagels: four months
+Pastries: one month
+Sliced bread: eight months (but best to eat within a few months)
+Loaf of bread: six months
4. Add a tasty spin to your haul by adding your own ingredients.
If you start frequenting the same places with your T2TG pickups, your tastebuds might grow tired of eating bagels and cheese pizza.
Instead, I'll do a quick look-through to see what's hiding in my kitchen cupboards and fridge to see what I can put together. There's also the Tasty app, which lets you search for recipes by ingredients. A few ideas I've played around with:
+A bunch of sides from a fish grill chain: chopped up some sausage from my fridge and tossed it onto the mix.
+Focaccia bread from a vegan bakery: dipped it into marinara sauce, or put together sandwiches from stuff I had lying around.
+Day-old slices of pepperoni pizza: topped them with a bunch of veggies (i.e., arugula, mushrooms, bell peppers, spinach).
5. Bring them to parties and social gatherings.
My favorite hack with the surprise bags is to take them to potlucks and game nights. It spares me from shelling out way more on a pizza pie, folks usually appreciate the assortment of eats, and the food gets consumed that same day.
I don't have to fret about what to do with a glut of bagels, or clear space in my freezer for those day-old pastries.
Recently, I scored a huge variety of gluten-free goodies for a pool party for my friend with Celiac Disease. I also picked up a few bags of bread and bagels at a vegan bakery for my vegan friend's beach party. I also hope to get a small haul from a hot chicken wings place for a jazz concert I'm going to with a few writer pals.
6. Or swap your extras with fellow T2TG nerds.
My friend Alanna, who is also a tad obsessed with T2TG, and I have swapped our extras from recent scores. For instance, I offered two chocolate croissants for a bowl of clam chowder.
That way, I'm not stuck unloading a bunch of pastries which I can't reasonably eat, nor have room for in my freezer to store for several months.
7. Check out what's available on trips.
While T2TG isn't available everywhere in the US, I believe it's currently in places such as New York City, San Francisco, Austin, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Miami, Boston, and Chicago.
You can change the location of your search, and it'll populate your results with eateries that are within a 20-mile radius.
On a recent work-cation in Orange County, I checked the app to see what might be available in the area, and picked up a bunch of donuts to enjoy with my Airbnb mate. It's fun, and I love the surprise factor while visiting different locales.
8. Slow your roll if need be.
As a former Groupon addict, where I maintained a spreadsheet to keep tabs on all my Groupons (this predates the Groupon app days), TGTG can be a bit addicting. There's only so many pastries I can eat or stash in my freezer before it turns into a small mountain of carb chaos.
If I find myself going overboard with the pickups and getting too click-happy, I limit my pickups in a given week and try to eat what I have before picking up another surprise bag.
9. Finally, practice to-go food pickup etiquette.
Just because I'm scoring a deal on food doesn't mean my food pickup manners go out the door.
TGTG lets you cancel up to two hours before the scheduled pickup time. If my day isn't going as planned or I'm pressed for time, I make sure to cancel well before the two-hour cancelation window. That way, someone else gets a chance to pick up the surprise bag, and that food doesn't go in the dumpster.
Most places do offer a bag for the goods, but it's encouraged to bring your own bag just in case. And while tipping isn't required, I do tip a few bucks to thank the folks working there for taking the time to prep the bags.
Some backstory for you: Too Good to Go was founded in 2015 out of Denmark. Since then, it's spawned a presence in 17 countries, and nearly 41,000 food establishments have signed up to offer their unsold food.
A not-too-fun fact: In the US, 30%–40% of food goes to waste each year. TGTG is doing its part to eliminate food that gets tossed. It's a win-win for both you and the business. TGTG is the portal to discounted food to customers. At the same time, restaurants earn a little money from food that would otherwise get tossed out.
