App Annually Saves 7.8 Million Meals From Waste in ItalyEstablished in 2016 in Denmark to address food waste in buffets, the app Too Good To Go has spread to 20 countries, saving over 600 million meals globally. Since its arrival in Milan in March of 2019, it has grown a user base of thirteen million in current day Italy. That means roughly 650,000 meals a month are saved from waste in Italy.The gauge for what is defined as a meal is 1 kg of food or equivalently one “surprise bag.” This system works through the application Too Good To Go being a middleman between business and consumer, starting with the business partnering with the application. The business then predicts the surplus it will have to offer at defined pickup times (usually 11-13 for grocers or markets and 22-23 for restaurants) and creates a listing. The surplus is offered in the aforementioned “surprise bag,” which means a container full of various excess items the restaurant theoretically does not anticipate selling. These bags are traditionally sold at a 50-75% discount on the base cost of the product. From there, a nearby user simply needs to select the listing, walk three or four blocks, and save perfectly good food from waste. The app takes a fee, the restaurant is able to sell excess food for a profit, and the customer gets affordable food. Everybody profits, and that is a very special thing when it comes to a sprawling food waste solution.Though on paper it may seem perfect, how does it actually hold up in practice? On Monday, October 5, I found four establishments near my apartment within the same pickup window to test how reliable, profitable, and smooth these transactions really are. The concentration of establishments participating in my general area was surprising. A fruit stand, vegetable stand, and small deli in the nearby Mercato Trionfale and a pizza place four blocks from my apartment all fell within the time frame of 11-12:30 for pickup. Upon displaying my phone with the receipt, the establishment would either provide me with a pre-prepared bag (fruit and vegetable stands) or, if they prepare fresh food, they would assemble the bags at that moment (pizza shop and deli). All workers I encountered seemed familiar with people approaching them with this app, though sometimes it was made difficult by my lack of explanatory Italian. Nonetheless, at each location I was provided with a bag that weighed at least a kilogram, in the case of the fruit and vegetable stands much more than that. This perhaps suggests that the aforementioned estimated monthly food savings could possibly be increased (if the bags are seemingly always a kg or above and their reference point for a meal saved is a kg). From promptly receiving these four heaping bags from grateful shopkeepers, I departed home to view my spoils. You do not know what you will get in your bag, simply that it probably adheres to the predictable excess content of your chosen establishment. With that, with random excesses of vegetables, fruit, meat and cheese splayed across my kitchen table, I was content with my shopping. Though it is good to know what to expect. The fruit and vegetables were all bruised or unappealing in their own way (though only minorly, and very easy to salvage) and the meat and cheese had to be refrigerated immediately and eaten within the next day. This is not a grocery replacement, though it may satisfy part of the need. In the end, I spent roughly 20 euros (22.38 USD) for four bags of food. Four bags of food that were set to be wasted that evening. While this app is monumental in its contribution to fighting food waste, it does not stop there in its catalyzing of societal good. According to the Too Good To Go website, approximately 61% of users had entered a store for the first time to collect a surprise bag, and 41% bought additional products upon collecting. The community engagement provided by this app, inadvertently or not, is undeniable, encouraging those who might not go out to eat, or purchase certain foods, and providing an outlet to undergo such things affordably just a walk away. Ph: Fab4Photo / Shutterstock.com

Established in 2016 in Denmark to address food waste in buffets, the app Too Good To Go has spread to 20 countries, saving over 600 million meals globally. Since its arrival in Milan in March of 2019, it has grown a user base of thirteen million in current day Italy. That means roughly 650,000 meals a month are saved from waste in Italy.The gauge for what is defined as a meal is 1 kg of food or equivalently one “surprise bag.” This system works through the application Too Good To Go being a middleman between business and consumer, starting with the business partnering with the application. The business then predicts the surplus it will have to offer at defined pickup times (usually 11-13 for grocers or markets and 22-23 for restaurants) and creates a listing. The surplus is offered in the aforementioned “surprise bag,” which means a container full of various excess items the restaurant theoretically does not anticipate selling. These bags are traditionally sold at a 50-75% discount on the base cost of the product. From there, a nearby user simply needs to select the listing, walk three or four blocks, and save perfectly good food from waste. The app takes a fee, the restaurant is able to sell excess food for a profit, and the customer gets affordable food. Everybody profits, and that is a very special thing when it comes to a sprawling food waste solution. Though on paper it may seem perfect, how does it actually hold up in practice? On Monday, October 5, I found four establishments near my apartment within the same pickup window to test how reliable, profitable, and smooth these transactions really are. The concentration of establishments participating in my general area was surprising. A fruit stand, vegetable stand, and small deli in the nearby Mercato Trionfale and a pizza place four blocks from my apartment all fell within the time frame of 11-12:30 for pickup. Upon displaying my phone with the receipt, the establishment would either provide me with a pre-prepared bag (fruit and vegetable stands) or, if they prepare fresh food, they would assemble the bags at that moment (pizza shop and deli). All workers I encountered seemed familiar with people approaching them with this app, though sometimes it was made difficult by my lack of explanatory Italian. Nonetheless, at each location I was provided with a bag that weighed at least a kilogram, in the case of the fruit and vegetable stands much more than that. This perhaps suggests that the aforementioned estimated monthly food savings could possibly be increased (if the bags are seemingly always a kg or above and their reference point for a meal saved is a kg). From promptly receiving these four heaping bags from grateful shopkeepers, I departed home to view my spoils. You do not know what you will get in your bag, simply that it probably adheres to the predictable excess content of your chosen establishment. With that, with random excesses of vegetables, fruit, meat and cheese splayed across my kitchen table, I was content with my shopping. Though it is good to know what to expect. The fruit and vegetables were all bruised or unappealing in their own way (though only minorly, and very easy to salvage) and the meat and cheese had to be refrigerated immediately and eaten within the next day. This is not a grocery replacement, though it may satisfy part of the need. In the end, I spent roughly 20 euros (22.38 USD) for four bags of food. Four bags of food that were set to be wasted that evening. While this app is monumental in its contribution to fighting food waste, it does not stop there in its catalyzing of societal good. According to the Too Good To Go website, approximately 61% of users had entered a store for the first time to collect a surprise bag, and 41% bought additional products upon collecting. The community engagement provided by this app, inadvertently or not, is undeniable, encouraging those who might not go out to eat, or purchase certain foods, and providing an outlet to undergo such things affordably just a walk away. Ph: Fab4Photo / Shutterstock.com