Too Good To Go: Fighting Food Waste, One Magic Bag at a Time

If you’re a food lover like me, there’s something exciting about not knowing exactly what’s for dinner. Add in the bonus of saving money, supporting local businesses, and cutting down on food waste, and you’ve got yourself a recipe worth trying. This is where Too Good To Go is ideal – an app that’s all about rescuing perfectly good food before it hits the bin.

What is Too Good To Go?

Too Good To Go was founded in Copenhagen in 2016 with a mission: to tackle the global food waste problem. And it’s a big problem. According to the WWF (2021), 40% of the food we produce globally goes to waste — that’s 2.5 billion tonnes every year, or around 80,000 kilograms of food wasted every single second. Shocking, right?

The app is simple: restaurants, cafés, supermarkets, and even hotels list their unsold food and then at the end of the day you can collect a “Magic Bag” at a heavily discounted price.

How It Works

1. Download the app and search your local area.
2. Reserve a Magic Bag from your chosen vendor.
3. Collect at a set time (often just before closing).
4. Take home your edible surprise!

The only catch? Bags can sometimes be cancelled if a shop or restaurant sells out and has nothing left over as you pre-order — but that’s actually a win for food waste, so I never mind too much.

What Can You Get?

This is where the fun really starts, because every Magic Bag feels like a foodie lucky dip. Depending on your area, you might find yourself walking away with ready-to-eat meals like a pub roast box on a Sunday, a hotel breakfast you can enjoy at home, or even sushi and sandwiches that didn’t get snapped up during the lunch rush. Bakeries are super popular & often sell out — places like Gail’s and Starbucks have become firm favourites of mine. On one Sunday pick-up from Starbucks I worked out I’d saved 89%, while a Gail’s bakery bag once gave me a 66% saving, complete with pastries, sourdough, and goodies I'd normally buy as a treat hugely reduced.

Groceries can be even more of a surprise. Some bags are plentiful, overflowing with fruit, vegetables, dairy and sometimes cupboard staples. I tend to find it's largely perishable fresh items, and near me no boxes I've had have ever had meat/fish in, but I have seen people get plenty! I’ve even had boxes so big they felt like a mini surprise food shop — one memorable haul included a mountain of overripe bananas. That’s when the fun kicks in: banana bread, baked oats, frozen smoothie packs, and plenty to share with friends. It’s not just about the bargain; it’s about being creative and turning “rescued” food into something delicious.

Why It’s Worth Trying

Too Good To Go is absolutely worth downloading if you’re even a little bit curious. For one, it’s budget friendly: you can often pick up bags for a few pounds that are worth four times as much, which feels like a small victory every time you walk out with your haul. It’s also a genuinely sustainable choice, because every bag you collect is food saved from the bin.

There’s the thrill of discovery too. You never quite know what you’ll get, and that unpredictability means you’ll try things you might never normally buy — I’ve discovered some new favourites this way. And when it comes to groceries, the mystery element can spark a clever cooking challenge, whether that’s figuring out what to do with a dozen bread rolls, a surplus of peppers, or yes, a tower of bananas. Too Good To Go proves that saving money, helping the planet, and getting creative in the kitchen can all go hand in hand.

Top Tips for Too Good To Go Newbies

• Be flexible: You don’t get to choose what’s inside. If you’re picky or have strict dietary needs, it may not always work.
• Have some freezer space: Many items can be frozen to save for later.
• Share with friends, family or colleagues: Especially if you land a giant bag of the same thing! Or if you get lots of salad, find someone with a rabbit/guinea pig!
• Trust your senses: Food may be past a “best before” date, but that doesn’t mean it’s inedible. Look, smell, taste – don’t just throw away.

My Experience So Far

I’ve had some absolute gems – bakery bags that turned into breakfasts, lunches and snacks for a couple of days, generous grocery boxes to top up the meal prep in the freezer, and roast dinner packs that felt like a Sunday treat for a fraction of the price. Sure, there are the odd quirky hauls (5 large pork pies anyone), but that’s part of the adventure.

And honestly? That surprise element is half the charm. Food tastes even better when you know you’ve helped towards the bigger food waste problem. Whether you’re looking to save some money, try something new, or simply do your bit for the planet, I highly recommend giving it a go. Embrace the surprise, and you might just find your next favourite foodie bargain.

Have you tried too good to go? What's your best magic bag?