Too Good to Go, pointless?

[Runnersandtoms]

Anyone successfully use Too Good to Go? I like the idea of it but the times I've tried it, I've just found it annoying. The places that get offered round here are Starbucks, which is just buying a load of sweet stuff I don't need, or Aldi or Co-op. Thought Aldi might yield some useful stuff. Got a massive box including 4 bags of broccoli/cauliflower and two huge bags of kale. All dated the day of collection. Collection was at 9pm. How can anyone use that much veg within a day before it goes off? Plus got some ready-made sandwiches (something we'd never buy and have no use for). Surely they shouldn't be able to give you piles and piles of duplicate stuff?

Kale and broccoli doesn't automatically 'go off' on the sell by date. You have some leeway to make soup or chop and freeze for use later if you don't eat as freshly cooked veg.

Some people do believe this sadly. The food industry has really done a number on us. After all, the more food we chuck out, the more food we buy to replace the chucked out food.

TGTG can be hit and miss. I use it occasionally. But if you’re someone who cares about UB dates, then it’s not for you.

I’m on a FB group for TGTG and it’s full of disgruntled people who genuinely expected a weekly shop for £3.30.

Just to clarify, I absolutely don't live by best before dates, and generally use my nose and eyes to decide whether something is safe to eat or not. I froze the bags of kale, and it has been fine to use straight from frozen, and the brocoli and cauliflower has lasted (a bit past its best) most of a week and gradually been used. It still has felt like an irritation, something to deal with rather than useful addition to the kitchen.

When we were on holiday in Cumbria we got too good to go cooked breakfasts from a lovely hotel . It was lovely , bacon , sausages , mushrooms, beans , hash browns and fried eggs.

I have never once seen TG2G claim that what you get in a bag is what you actually need or will be 'useful' to you. Common sense would say that a lot of the popular/'useful' stuff would have actually been bought... at full price... that day, and this is what was left over.

I'm not even sure how anyone can complain about it - the app and shop descriptions are 100% clear on the 'surprise' and 'leftover stock' aspect of it. If you want the freedom of choice to choose what you want, then choose what you fucking want - and pay full price.

Agree that they make no guarantees as to what you get. Often there is a general indication - if you are buying a too good bag from Greggs obviously you're getting cakes and sandwiches as that's what they sell. The Aldi one says "selection of grocery items that could include fruit, vegetables, fish, meat, dairy, cakes, pastries and snacks".

You can also look at the ratings to see what other people have given as marks out of 5 for what they received. It's a risk, a gamble, a bit of fun.

Just to clarify, I absolutely don't live by best before dates, and generally use my nose and eyes to decide whether something is safe to eat or not

You can't smell or see food-poisoning pathogens.

our Local Lidl has a better deal, you can take foof going out of date for free at closing time. You can enter the store at 8.50 and pick up the various items, but they set aside food for the community centre first. All food, even meat is fine for an additional 24 hours

Nobody wants foof that might be on the turn 😳

Oh, I don’t know. Zombies? Necrophiliacs?😀

I used it once a week and then it got flooded by the national companies. The supermarket offerings are almost always mouldy and one box I had was 6 packets of sprouts, one lot of spring onions, and a box of blue (mouldy) raspberries. I home freeze veg if I can't use it up in time so it was a great deal of work and TBH for the price it wasn't far off full price. Another was 3 loaves of bread and 3 packets of sprouts that were yellow and mouldy, I told the woman in the desk that I wasn't taking it, they can use their own services to dispose of it, and made a complaint to TGTG having taken an image of the box when I first saw it. The premise is that you are supposed to be able to make a meal out of it but while you could have sprout sandwiches, they are supposed to be still safe to eat.

Greggs and Starbucks give you way too many sweet things, one Greggs bag gave me 12 iced doughnuts, the neighbours all got doughnuts that day. Starbucks gave me 3 iced buns, I've never had another off either again.

Most of the independant offers are good though except one chip shop who, while I was waiting, the staff at the back gave away the TGTG bag to their friend, when I shouted I was waiting for that they bolted out of the back door and the poor woman on the till had to call the manager. The manager dug out some old, cold chips and 6 cups of curry sauce. The chips were hard and inedible. When I made a complaint to the manager he gave me a whole load of abuse and told me to FO if I didn't like it. I complained about that one too.

So it has got worse over the last couple of years and instead of using it once a week, I only recently used it for the first time in 6 months last week.

We use it sometimes. Morrisons were great in the early days - £10 worth of blueberries alone plus other stuff. For my blueberry loving dd it was heaven.

we get Greggs sometimes - usually 2/3 filled baguettes and some cakes. Have the cakes as an evening treat and the baguettes for lunch next day.

gopuff used to be great as you got proper ingredients - chicken breasts salmon all sorts, they don’t seem to do it anymore.

sushi counter at sainsburys is good - that’s a morning pickup so we sometimes have for a weekend lunch.

Toby carvery for a late dinner

Starbucks or pret and freeze the toasties or have next day.

@MarkingBadtgtg are really responsive if you complain about an order. I have had about 3 refunds.

I did complain and receive 2 refunds from them as I'd taken images of the food but they said they won't do anything about the one who was abusive as it was my word against his. I don't go around recording people. I did get a refund on the food though on that one though.

Food does not go mouldy at midnight!

The thing I want to buy an Aldi bag but I can see myself getting about 22 bags of watercress in it, as have seen on a FB group of TGTG. Plus someone had 16 pots of their large coleslaw!

Have bought Morrisons TGTG bags and it was ruined by a pack of satsumas which a couple of them were split and made everything wet. Got a refund.

If you live near a Butterwick (Leicestershire and Northamptonshire) - OMG! Get their bags. They are pricey but get 5-6 LARGE cupcakes, filled/loaded donuts and shortbread and normally each donut are £3.50 each. I think I paid £6.75 for one.

Greggs bags are good value. The most I got was 4 sausage rolls, 4 different bakes, 3 baguettes, 5-6 cakes and 2 salad boxes (they both had a date 2 days later!). They get sold quickly.

The buffet breakfasts are better if you buy them during the week and school term time!

Wish there is a petrol station with a Waitrose or M&S round here.

Hopefully that M&S is on the arrivals side!!

The premise is that you are supposed to be able to make a meal out of it

No its not, it's whatever they have leftover.

Greggs and Starbucks give you way too many sweet things, one Greggs bag gave me 12 iced doughnuts, the neighbours all got doughnuts that day. Starbucks gave me 3 iced buns, I've never had another off either again

That's mostly what they sell, so what you'll get.

Another tip. If it's forecast to chuck it down all day with rain, get a TGTG bag, especially from cafes as you get more stuff. As people do not go out when its that weather!

The premise according to TGTG when I joined it was there was a meal not a random bunch of mouldy crap.

Most of what Greggs and any other store sells is often not in their bags because they've sold them. Around here according to the staff in the local Greggs they mostly sell sausage rolls and bakes but they are often not left over so the sweet stuff gets put in there.

If you freeze it or cook it when you get home it is in date. People will have bought the same food for full price an hour before. It isn’t on the turn at all.

Then it isn't for you.

I’ve used it and got some really good stuff. I just freeze most of it.

I never look at best before on vegetables and fruit. Fresh sandwiches I would keep for a couple of days especially if from
Pret or Greggs.
But I collect Olio items. So my bar is quite low.

‘How can anyone use it in a day before it goes off’ is what you said which contradicts your assertion that you don’t focus on best before dates.
you don’t have to use it in a day do you. You’ll have a few days past that.

if that’s stressful then don’t do it. No one is forcing you.

I've used it a few times. My best bag (actually 2 bags, as a second was reserved by someone else who cancelled at the last minute, so I was given it too) was Marks and Spencer Simply food, the Saturday before Easter Sunday last year. I guess they had more food to give away because of the bank holiday weekend, but I got a whole chicken, butterflied lamb leg, a couple of ready meals, a cake and cheesecake, bread, pastries plus a load of prepped veg. The lamb leg alone was £12.