I stumbled onto the Too Good to Go app a week ago scrolling on my TikTok for you page. Over the weekend I decided to seek a few of the shops listed on the app a try. Too Good to Go was created as a way to reduce food waste. We waste an average of 2.8 billion tons of food each year; food waste is additionally responsible for an increase of 10% of greenhouse gas emissions as well as a hefty cost of 1.2 trillion dollars (about $3,700 per person in the U.S.). Companies partaking in the app gather the leftover food of the day and package it into three or four surprise bags. The surprise bags are priced lower than the normal companies’ prices, usually ranging from three to 10 dollars. They then list those surprise bags on the app for people to reserve. What I have learned so far is that they upload the availability for these bags at a certain time. For example, when I decided to try Tiff’s Treats located in Armature Works, they would upload the availability around nighttime which I assume is when they closed. Keep in mind this isn’t the same for all of the companies on the app.
Tampa only has a select few companies to choose from. The closest is Tiff’s Treats, but I set mine to twenty miles that way I can hook in St. Petersburg. First, I tried Tiff’s Treats. Tiff’s Treats is known for their fresh out-of-the-oven desserts. When I saw they had a bag open for reservation on the app I jumped at the opportunity. I reserved a bag for $7.51 and picked it up the next day during the given times the app listed for me. Going into it, I wasn’t expecting much; to say the least I was shocked at the result. I got a variety of a dozen cookies that were still fresh and moist for only seven dollars. The original price for all those cookies would’ve cost me $22; I ended up saving $15 thanks to this app. Since the results for this surprise bag were so enjoyable, I decided to try a second store: Pete’s Bagels. Pete’s Bagels is in St. Petersburg, a twenty-five-minute drive from my house. I reserved the bag in the afternoon for five dollars and picked it up the next day. When I arrived, the staff were optimistic and friendly. I ended up getting eight bagels and two muffins. All eight bagels were everything bagels which was a bit disappointing because of the lack of variety; in contrast, I do love that flavor so not much to complain about. I didn’t enjoy the muffins not because of the quality I just don’t like blueberry muffins in general. My dad happily accepted to eat them. In total it would’ve cost me $26 for all these items in total but again with this app I saved $21.
To repeat, I wish Tampa had an increase of locations on this app but here is a few that I haven’t tried: Smallcakes Cupcakery in New Tampa, Maple Biscuit Company in St. Petersburg, Salty Sisters Gourmet Popcorn, Napoli Bros Pizza in Tampa, and The Cuban Empanada in Tampa. Overall, my experience was a 10/10 I totally recommend for everyone to try this out. Hopefully, it will gain an increase in popularity and help contribute to a stop to excess food waste.
tutorial on how to reserve one of the surprise bags. In the phone screen on the left is a display of the homepage on the app and the restaurants available in Tampa like Tiff’s Treats and Pete’s Bagels. (Vera Agne)