App of the week: Prevent food waste with Too Good To Go

There are more and more initiatives to combat food waste: often the products that are approaching their best-before date are sold at rock-bottom prices. Too Good To Go is one of the initiatives that allows you to collect so-called ‘Magic Boxes’ containing products that would otherwise be thrown away.

Too Good To Go

Do you ever get products that have been discounted at the end of the day because otherwise they may no longer be sold? In principle, this is comparable to the principle that Too Good To Go uses. Products that are left over at the end of the day and cannot return to the store shelves the next day are bundled and sold at a lower price. As soon as a ‘Magic Box’ appears in Too Good To Go, you immediately see what the value of the box in reality is, and what percentage you can pay if you would like to purchase the box.

Before that, you must first install the Too Good To Go app on your Android or iOS phone. After installing the application, you must first log in: the purchases you make via Too Good To Go are linked to your account. You can choose on the start screen to link the app to your Google or Facebook account, but it is also possible to create an account that is linked to your email address.

After the account has been created, you will be taken to the screen where you have to select your location – you can give the app one-time access to your location, but you can also enter the location of where you live. Do not forget to select at the top what is the range within which Too Good To Go Magic Boxes can display – that defaults to 10 kilometers as the crow flies, but can be reduced to a maximum of 3 kilometers.

Check constantly

As soon as you have set up the app, you will see whether there are packages available at supermarkets, bakeries and other local parties for collection. Packages that have already been picked up are listed under the Too Good To Go ‘Just Missed’ banner. If you’ve already picked up a package and want the app to notify you when the package becomes available again, select the package as a favorite and keep an eye on your notifications to find out as soon as the products are available.

If a company expects to offer new products, you can tell by the description for the store – it will tell you a time when that store’s Magic Box will be available. You often have to be quick to purchase such a box. It is therefore advisable to open the Too Good To Go app regularly in the evening – depending on the companies in your area, most Magic Boxes are put online between 17:00 and 18:00.

Purchase Magic Box

If there is a Box online, it is wise to purchase it immediately. For Too Good To Go, the Magic Boxes must always be purchased in advance: it is not possible to pick up a Box in the store without having placed an order for it. Please pay attention to the description of the store before you pick up the order: usually the products are prepared for you, but it is wise to bring a bag, for example.

When ordering a Too Good To Go package, you can also donate an amount to the Food Bank in your region. You can also do this without placing an order, by clicking the ‘support a local charity’ button. In this way you support the parties that provide families with the necessary support in the form of food packages.

In Too Good To Go you sometimes also see other Boxes appear: in such packages you often find more specific products, such as fruit and vegetables, or wine. In any case, there is a lot to choose from and with almost all packages it remains a surprise what you get until you pick up the order. Are you planning to try out Too Good To Go? Let us know in the comments at the bottom of the article.