too good to go food waste app - anyone else use it?

[TheGenealogist]

Huge fan of this app - friend told me about it over lockdown and after I'd had my first "magic bag" I was hooked! The basic idea is that you pay for a lucky bag of food from a local retailer which would otherwise have gone in the bin. Picked up a bag from a M&S petrol station shop last night, cost me £4, got two large packs of salmon, two panini wraps, two packs of sandwiches, a side salad, a bag of mixed veg, and a pack of melon. Greggs also do bags which the kids enjoy - most of the bags we've had from there have a couple of the bakes, sausage rolls, cakes, pastries.

Yes it's all short-dated, yellow sticker stuff but lots can be frozen. Or eaten the next day. Definitely worth looking at if you're flexible about what you eat. Lots of restaurants do it too, although pick up times can be much later in the evening.

Any other fans???

Today's Gregg's bag:
4x chocolate covered shortbread
2x baguette sandwiches
1 gingerbread man
1 pastie
So not the best one I've had from them but for £2.59 I can't complain and it'll definitely get eaten.

Greggs today x 2 bags

2 x baguettes
2 x sandwiches
2 x sausage rolls
2x cookies
2 x doughnuts

It is good and will get eaten. But I have seen better

Gregg's yesterday.
2 x baguettes
2 x sandwiches
3 x sausage rolls
2 x cup cakes

I was pleased with that but not great for the waistline.

I've managed to get a Morrison's bag for tomorrow, does anyone know whereabouts in Morrison's you collect from?

I got my first bag today from Morrison’s
2 x cabbage
4 x cauliflower
46 x avocados

We don’t like avocado ☹️

@Hotchick1972 46 avocados??! Jeepers. Er… do you like guacamole?

I would be absolutely made up to receive 46 avocados!! You can keep them in the fridge to slow down ripening. You can also freeze avocado for smoothies but it does affect the texture.

Like I said - human dustbins who pay for the privilege. Who really wants or needs to take a load of going off sandwiches from Greggs or 46 avocadoes? It doesn't work for the average family.

No we don’t like guacamole either 😂
Adult kids have taken some, so have neighbours - posted on local gossip page and a lady took 15 and gave us a jar of homemade jam!!
Cauliflowers frozen (will use in sauce) leaves fed to wild rabbits

@Chicchicchicchiclana it’s not compulsory you know, and if it’s not suitable for one family or another that’s fine, they don’t need to do it. For most people on this thread it’s a bit of fun and a way of getting a surprise dinner for £3-4 and helping minimise food waste in an enjoyable way.

I’d be fine with 46 avocados, personally. Like PP I’d pass some on to the neighbours and then make guac with the rest.

I collected a bag from a local bakery earlier this week (after reading this thread!). 1 sausage roll, 1 sandwich, one large loaf of bread, 10 sweet items. (I’ve previously gotten more from them, tbf, and greater variety.) But it was fine for me - I had a good walk there and back, ate the savoury things over two meals with a side salad and a doughnut for dessert, passed some buns etc to neighbours and am still eating the bread (have sliced and frozen half). I enjoy it. I’d use it again.

I finally got a bag to collect! 2x baguette sandwiches, 2x pasties, 4 cakes and a loaf of bread. Very happy with the contents, fed us all for tea as we don't currently have a kitchen - nice and easy.

@Hotchick1972

I feel short changed - I only got 17 avocados in mine the other month!

Luckily my 13yo loves avocado toast!

@Chicchicchicchiclana

Like I said - human dustbins who pay for the privilege. Who really wants or needs to take a load of going off sandwiches from Greggs or 46 avocadoes? It doesn't work for the average family.

Works for me!! 🤷‍♂️

Nothing is going to suit everybody is it?

Also worth keeping in mind that avocados and similar have insane air miles, water requirements etc to grow. So the idea that they make it all the way to the UK and then get binned is terrible, I’d absolutely rather they go home with someone and get eaten.

@Chicchicchicchiclana

Like I said - human dustbins who pay for the privilege. Who really wants or needs to take a load of going off sandwiches from Greggs or 46 avocadoes? It doesn't work for the average family.

Depends where you go. The M&S garage generally has a few ready meals, a toastie and a salad plus small bag of doughnuts maybe and some fruit.

All stuff that can be frozen or eaten for lunch next day.

Morrisons fruit and veg will last quite a few days and I pass on anything there is too much of via the olio app. I don't get ones from greggs / costa because I know it's likely there will be too much of bakery stuff I won't eat but foe bigger families it's probably covers much or tea for all.

Greggs bags excellent, good local carvey. M&S can be fab or dreadful

I'm in NYC and I use it loads. I'd use it even more if half the pick up times weren't right when I'm getting my toddler from
Daycare or when he's going to bed :(

I've had some great stuff from the posh local bakery, but you have to be really on it to nab a bag as they sell out in a flash.

I don't get ones from greggs / costa because I know it's likely there will be too much of bakery stuff I won't eat but foe bigger families it's probably covers much or tea for all.

In fairness the Greggs and Costa stuff can all be frozen and used up over a few weeks.
It isn't obligatory to eat 4 yumyums in an evening just because they're still fresh I do have to remind myself of that a few times though

@Chicchicchicchiclana

Like I said - human dustbins who pay for the privilege. Who really wants or needs to take a load of going off sandwiches from Greggs or 46 avocadoes? It doesn't work for the average family.

The fun sponge is here

It’s a bit of fun and cheap.

Picked up two today:

£4 M&S
5 Battered tempura prawns
Deli style coronation chicken pot
Selection of 4 dips
Bag of salad
Bag of fresh ginger

£3.50 Local Indian takeaway
Rogan Josh worth £9
Rice worth £3

First time I'd used the app for a while, thought it was alright!

We get the Morrisons ones when we can. Good fun figuring out how to use unusual fruit & veg ( made quite a lot of jam last summer). We did get a lot of courgettes though, which DH hates - I was very creative in disguising them

We had Costa tonight. For £3 we got:

2 bacon butties
1 cheese sandwich
1 crossaint
1 slice of cake

Bacon butties have gone to a neighbor as we're veggie, but it's still a decent bag I think.

Tonight I got a fruit and vegetables bag from a supermarket with cauliflower, strawberries, apples, oranges, pears, banana, melon and salad.

Also picked up a bag of pastries, meat and bread from the petrol station.

Am away from home at the moment, on a training course so a few of us are sharing accommodation.

Made a large pot of vegetable dal for dinner, soup for tomorrow, passed the meat over to those who eat it plus have prepared smoothies and prepped salads for tomorrow.

All for roughly the equivalent of ten pounds.
My fellow students are delighted and are all keen to use the app.

Just snagged a bag from a local bakery:

1 x pavane loaf
1 x sesame baguette
Jam donut
Massive hunk of focaccia 😋

From a Sainsbury’s garage I got…

A warburtons toastie loaf (next day date)
A full size Soreen (2/8)
A pack of 5 lemon cake bars (1/9!)
A small pack of sliced apple (on date)
Red Leicester ploughman’s sandwich (next day)
2 packs of sweet chilli chicken skewers (on date)
Sharing pack of dinky deckers (on bbe date)

I was pretty happy. I’ve never been in the garage and it looked pretty small, so was dreading it. It made sure I did some exercise as I ran there and back too, with my bread under my arm 😂

46 avocados! Wow! In terms of value though that's amazing, they're at least 50p each in the supermarkets so 46 is £23 worth. I do like avocado on toast or in guacamole but the issue would have been finding freezer space for so many all at once.

Just looked at my app for this evening and it's the usual culprits of M&S at garages, Spar, Nisa, Greggs. Also a chinese buffet restaurant for £3.59 (assuming that's one of those fill a box jobs) but it's a late pick up and we had Chinese last night.

Going to try my hardest to get a Morrisons bag for tomorrow, there's also a commercial supplier not far which does boxes of meat/fruit/veg which are apparently amazing but sell out very quickly.

Have also seen Papa Johns pizza on the app for the first time this week but they're offering a large takeaway cheese and tomato pizza for £5.99 which seems more like a cheap pizza deal than saving food waste.

And does anyone REALLY think that a sandwich rescued from Gregg's at 4pm is "going off" and not perfectly OK to eat the following day