Too Good To Go, an app released in February 2023 in South Florida, combats food waste by providing restaurants’ leftover food at cheaper prices.
Jonathan Rosati, sophomore chemistry major, said that he often used the app at home in New York.
“I think it’s great, I mean I paid like $6.99, I got lard bread and a whole box of Italian pastries. I think it’s a great app. They give you a bunch of stuff they’re going to throw out and you don’t have to let food go to waste,” Rosati said.
Through the app, restaurant, bakery and grocery stores distribute their leftover food in surprise bags. Customers are not told what they will receive in exchange for an extremely discounted price, all effort toward reducing food waste overall.
Shawn Neifeld is the founder of the Mojo Donuts, a chain of gourmet donut shops in South Florida. Neifeld partnered with Too Good to Go in April.
“I love the program. I think it’s a great program. I literally don’t understand why every donut shop, every cookie shop, every bake shop doesn’t do it. I don’t understand why they wouldn’t want to do it,” Neifeld said.
He explained how in order to provide a wide selection for his customers throughout the day, stores would need to make multiple trays of the same donuts. However, as business slows down around 5 p.m., many unsold trays are left and thrown out.
“That’s what makes us different and that’s what make us good, but the problem with that is, you want to have a nice selection for customers who come in at the end of the day,” Neifeld said. “But at the same time, you got to be careful, because we just don’t know how many different people are going to be coming in.”
Neifeld said that from what he sees in these early stages, the app Too Good to Go can help him break even on unsold donuts.
“Am I making money with it? I don’t think so, I don’t know. But am I losing money or am I breaking even on certain things? I guess I am, and for that, it’s good,” Neifeld said. “It’s either that or I’d be throwing donuts away or giving donuts away.”
Other restuarants within 10 miles of campus that use Too Good to Go are CAO Bakery & Cafe, Tehillah Garden and Just Salad Pembroke.
Students can download the app for free on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
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