According to the United Nations, 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted globally every year.
Where does it go? In dumpsters and landfills.
Every day, restaurants, bakeries, and cafes close up and are left with food they’ll throw in the garbage.
Most people don’t realize the amount of food they waste every day. It quickly adds up.
But a new app is changing that – Too Good To Go. As a relatively new app, it’s already making headway and positive change.
How the free app works: Restaurants, bakeries, and cafes create an account, post their leftover meals and prices, and users can find and purchase food at a cheap price.
One of the best things about the technology is that you aren’t limited to the app; you can also use the company’s website to search leftover food and prices.
Co-founder Chris Wilson, noted, “We’ve saved over 100,000 meals from the landfill since launching in Denmark in the back end of last year.”
Food waste prevention specialist and senior advocate of the National Resources Defense Council, JoAnne Berkenkamp, noted food waste is a big problem and businesses are throwing money away.
Berkencamp further explained that “many food-service purveyors don’t recognize the amount of food that goes to waste, and they underestimate the value of it.”
The app not only helps alleviate food waste, but it also helps businesses bring in revenue on the food they otherwise may have thrown in a dumpster.
Plus, according to the website, 1167 meals have been provided to the homeless.
Originally targeting college students, the app quickly gained popularity and attention. So far, it’s available in 7 countries: the UK, the US, Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, Norway, and France.
A study performed by the University of Arizona discovered 54 billion pounds of food are wasted in restaurants annually. Only a small percent (16%) is donated or recycled.
Of that food waste, 75% of it is cooking oil, which is not consumable, and it’s clogging landfills.
Too Good To Go is an app of its time.
You may think throwing away food or clothes is not a big deal, but keep in mind, someone else could use it. Let’s work together to keep consumer food out of landfills.
Download the app in the App Store or Google Play.
