Deals and steals (Too Good To Go)
Restaurants, Food, Environment

An Appetizing Approach to Reducing Food Waste

By Frank Sabatini Jr.

To the benefit of consumers and the planet, the global app Too Good to Go is gaining steam in a number of U.S. cities, including San Diego. The system connects businesses that have surpluses of food to everyday foodies who are willing to pick up the sweet or savory goods at those businesses shortly before they close each day. What awaits are packages of food, often listed on the app as “surprise bags.” They are sold at one-third their average retail prices – if not cheaper.

Too Good To Go’s mission is to reduce food waste while helping restaurants, cafes and bakeries make a little pocket money on their day’s leftover foods that would otherwise get tossed into the garbage. Only foods and meals that haven’t passed their use-by-date and that are still serve-able can be sold over the app.

Most of the surprise bags we perused started as low as $3.99 – and without sales tax!

Since the concept was introduced to San Diego last year, a number of well-known kitchens have jumped on board—and we’ve partaken in some of them.

They include Lefty’s and Rubicon Deli in Mission Hills; Mr. Moto Pizza in multiple metro locations; The Chicken Pie Shop in North Park, Rei Do Gado Brazilian Steakhouse in the Gaslamp Quarter, Hob Nob Hill in Bankers Hill, and more. The selection of kitchens taking part vary almost by the minute throughout each day.

All transactions are made over the app, which continually updates the businesses that are selling their overstock on the current and/or following day. We’ve learned that you have to sometimes act fast in purchasing the deals because many of the participating businesses only offer a few of them at a time.