Could “Too Good to Go” be the Food Service for You?
By Kevin Gibbons
At The Savvy Life, we believe that the successful management of your personal finances involves finding a solution that works for you. While there certainly is a lot of commonality we draw on when creating Spending Plans for individuals and families, we know that if the solution doesn’t address your specific situation and needs, it will not work in the long run.
In that vein, today we bring you a solution that may appeal to a small segment of our audience. While you may not think it applicable to your own situation, consider if it might be perfect for a family member or friend.
A recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle featured a new service called Too Good to Go. This is a mobile app that notifies you when a local grocery store or restaurant has extra food and will sell it to you at a remarkably low price. The idea is that these businesses would rather sell extra food for a fraction of normal price than throw it away.
In the article, author Tessa McLean relates her experiences receiving notifications from various businesses and picking up some extraordinary food.
How it Works
You sign up with specific stores or restaurants. When the business has extra food, they notify you and you have a small time window (set by the individual company between 15 minutes and several hours) to pick it up.
The food is a “grab bag” of what the business has as leftovers at that time, but McLean was able to feed herself and her husband all three meals in a day as part of her test.
Bags cost $4.99 or $5.99 and are supposed to be valued at $15 or $18, respectively.
Caveats
There are some things to be aware of when using this app:
McLean reports the quality and quantity of the food was unexpectedly high, but because you are getting whatever the establishment has extra of, if you have dietary restrictions or preferences, it will be difficult to participate. You just don’t know what food you will be getting. (This can be viewed as a positive, if you are a somewhat “adventurous” eater, as you will expand your dining experience!)
The time windows can be challenging. These businesses prepare the bags of food, usually at the end of a serving period and then want to move them quickly. (Think clearing out breakfast burritos after the morning rush before preparing for the lunch crowd.)
Who is this best for?
This service is not suited for everyone.
If you have dietary restrictions or preferences, it may be hard to find establishments that will address them.
If you need specific foods at specific times of the day, the uncertainty and randomness may not suit you.
If you are not in a flexible situation where you can get to the business within the time window, it may be challenging.
So, who is it good for?
Single people or couples who live in a metropolitan area.
People who are flexible and adventurous when it comes to their eating.
People who work from home or have flexible schedules.
Too Good to Go was started in Denmark and branched out over Europe before coming to the United States. Their primary goal is to cut down on food waste. If you live in one of the cities currently served by the app (San Francisco Bay Area, New York, Boston, Jersey City, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Portland or Seattle), or know someone who does, this may be a fun, cost-effective way to purchase some of your meals.
Kevin Gibbons is a Cash Flow Planning Expert, the Vice President of The Savvy Life and co-author of the international bestseller Living The Savvy Life. For the past nine years, Kevin and Savvy Life Founder Melissa Tosetti have worked with over 650 individuals and families to create Spending Plans.
To learn about how Kevin and Melissa work with clients to create Spending Plans, visit The Savvy Life’s Home Page. If you’d like to learn about how they work with financial advisors and their clients visit: The Savvy Life Advisor’s Page.
