surplus food – With food prices still squeezing household budgets, shoppers like a 25-year-old in Durham, North Carolina, are using “surprise bag” apps to cut grocery costs. Too Good to Go and Flashfood connect consumers with stores and cafes offering surplus items at steep
For Matthew Hall, the math on his grocery budget has become urgent. He’s trying to stretch his spending to eventually replace his aging car, and he’s doing it in a time when food prices and overall inflation have made every trip to the store feel more expensive than the last.
Hall, 25, of Durham, North Carolina, regularly uses an app called Too Good to Go. It helps him find steep discounts on food, turning “surplus” inventory into a chance to meal prep.
“In the interest of sustainability and keeping things out of landfills, I use it for things that I can use to meal prep to keep costs low,” Hall told MISRYOUM.
“It’s a win-win for me and for the business.”
Too Good to Go works by matching shoppers with grocery stores. cafes and restaurants that are trying to move food that’s close to the end of its shelf life. Instead of picking exactly what they want ahead of time. customers buy so-called “surprise bags.” The contents are usually a category—produce or frozen goods. for example—but shoppers don’t know the specific items until pickup.
The company says the discounts can be dramatic: “surprise bags” are offered at more than 50% off retail price, though the app says it often comes closer to one-third of the original retail cost. In the U.S., Too Good to Go says users have collectively saved more than $458.9 million on surprise bags.
Chris MacAulay, vice president of operations for North America, said the central promise to customers is value.
“The thing they know is they’re going to get great value,” MacAulay told MISRYOUM.
For merchants, the appeal is different: surplus food that might otherwise be thrown away gets sold.
“It’s a tremendous win … it’s great food that would normally end up in the (trash) bin and that is ending up in customer’s hands,” MacAulay said.
Hall has leaned heavily on Whole Foods surprise bags, often freezing ingredients or cooking what he can and building meals around what he receives. He said he also occasionally buys a surprise bag from a local bakery.
A Whole Foods surprise meat bag he picked up was priced at $9.99 for a value worth $30. It contained 5 pounds of chicken that was close to its sell-by date. Hall froze 3 pounds and cooked the rest.
“I made a bunch of chicken quesadillas the next day and put it in Spanish rice and burrito bowls,” Hall said.
Another produce bag pickup included a lion’s mane mushroom—an item Hall said he had to look up on the internet. He ended up cooking it and using it with steaks.
“I ended up cooking those and using them with steaks,” Hall said. “I love incorporating new things into what I’m cooking.”
Behind the scenes, Too Good to Go’s footprint has expanded quickly since it began in Europe in 2016. The app is now in 21 countries with 120 million users and 180,000 partners, MacAulay said. In the U.S. it is available in 62 cities. and the company plans to be in just under 70 cities by the end of the year.
In the U.S., Too Good to Go says surprise bags are available at more than 530 Whole Foods stores. The retailer says the bags let customers purchase a mix of items nearing their “best-by” date at a reduced price for products worth significantly more.
Prices can vary, with the program ranging from $6.99 for a bag of produce worth $21 to $9.99 for a seafood bag worth $30.
Whole Foods also ties the program to broader waste reduction efforts, including donations to food banks and composting programs. Nathan Cimbala, a Whole Foods Market spokesperson, said the company has seen growing interest.
“Our program with Too Good to Go makes it easy for customers to get the products they love at a lower price while helping cut food waste,” Cimbala told MISRYOUM. “We’ve seen strong interest since expanding last year, and we’re continuing to grow the offerings.”
The program doesn’t only help large retailers. It also gives small businesses a new route to move surplus.
Christophe Roberts, founder of Seed Brklyn, a cafe, retail space and art gallery in New York City, described the problem he faced as a new entrepreneur: even when he tries to bake only enough goods for customers, there is often extra at the end of the day.
“Offering the baked goods at a steep discount to the community makes sense,” Roberts said.
Roberts said he was ashamed to admit that early on he was throwing away baked goods that couldn’t be sold. After listing baked goods on the app, he said he now sees a chance to attract new customers.
“Being able to offer some type of relief and also not let that go to waste is an amazing aspect of this partnership,” Roberts said.
Roberts added that using the app could help bring in customers rather than letting unsold food disappear.
One challenge remains for shoppers: because the contents are a surprise, people with food allergies may have limitations. MacAulay said customers can ask at pickup if any items contain allergens they may be sensitive to, and they can choose not to take the bag and instead get a refund.
The company also argues that the practice doesn’t displace other organizations that feed people in need. MacAulay said app users aren’t taking away from other groups because “there is so much waste inside of the food supply ecosystem or supply chain.”
The same affordability pressure that drives interest in Too Good to Go is also showing up in another app: Flashfood.
Flashfood lets shoppers buy discounted surplus items from grocery stores—but in a more structured way. Instead of surprise bags with unknown contents, shoppers choose specific items offered by the grocer in the app for pickup in the store.
The concept is similar—connecting shoppers with grocers that have surplus food nearing its best-by date—but the difference is control. Flashfood says its food is available at up to 50% off, and produce boxes—usually containing 10 pounds of fruits and vegetables—are offered at a large discount.
Flashfood was founded in Canada about nine years ago and entered the central United States region about four years ago, said CEO Jordan Schenck. She said the company’s mission is grounded in reaching “plates of people.”
“We were founded with the mission to make sure that it made it to the plates of people,” Schenck said.
Flashfood partners with more than 2,000 grocery stores in 28 states, and earlier this year expanded its pilot program with Kroger. Kate Mora, president of Kroger Mid-Atlantic, said the partnership gives customers another way to save while ensuring more food is used for its intended purpose.
“By partnering with Flashfood, we’re giving customers another way to save on the groceries they need while ensuring more food is used for its intended purpose – feeding families,” Mora said. “That is a win for our customers and a win for our communities.”
Schneck said demand from shoppers has been rising for platforms like Flashfood, especially as inflation pushed households to look for additional ways to stretch budgets.
“Flashfood has been offering a solution for shoppers to stretch their grocery dollars for several years, including after the COVID-19 pandemic when inflation was high and more so now,” Schenck said.
“Demand is so high from the shopper side to access platforms like Flashfood,” she added.
“There’s been a lot of talk and news just about what pricing feels like in this day, and age and that’s sort of mobilizing a lot of our growth.”
Putting the apps side by side shows how the same forces—rising prices. household pressure. and waste concerns—are turning into everyday purchasing choices. In Hall’s case. the reward comes not only in the discount. but also in how the unknown becomes dinner. and how savings can keep shrinking budgets from turning into broken plans.
Too Good to Go Flashfood grocery savings food waste inflation Whole Foods surplus food apps surprise bags Kroger produce boxes