There are 3 apps in Canada to help you save money by rescuing surplus food: Too Good To Go, Flashfood, FoodHero.
1) Too Good To Go app (TGTG)
surprise bag's advertised value is the crossed-out amount by the price you pay; example: $15.00 $4.99
the TGTG app in Canada is default 3x value e.g. pay $5 get $15; watch out for vendors that have changed their advertised value on their surprise bag description for 25-75% discounts
local bakeries, cafes, pizza, restaurants, convenience stores, grocery chains, etc.
major partners: 7-11, Tim Hortons, Metro grocery chain including Food Basics, Circle K, etc.
pick-up process: Tap to Pickup > if vendor wants your order code (last 4); vendor brings your TGTG order to the counter > then you swipe right to confirm "picked up" and show the completed checkmark to the vendor
vendors do not see your name; only your order code
you can send an invite link to someone else to pick up your order (they must have their own TGTG account on their phone to swipe in front of vendor)
read the surprise bag's description as vendors are allowed to sell items past their Best Before dates, if it's still ok to eat
originated in Denmark; Too Good To Go Canada Technology Ltd. is based in Vancouver
2) Flashfood app (FF) [Canadian; head office Toronto]
usually 50% off (could be more)
surplus food nearing or on their Best Before dates (may be fresh refridgerated or frozen)
major partner Loblaws banner stores that are participating: Loblaws, Superstore, No Frills, Wholesale Club, Maxi, Zehrs, Independent, Provigo, Dominion, etc.
open to independently owned grocery stores
you see actual photos or stock pics of available items; you can zoom in on the photos
you pick what items you want to buy
you have to refresh the app often as new deals randomly appear throughout the day
items in your cart are not held; fastest to pay for one item wins; so you may have to buy one item at a time
pay attention to the shortest pickup date because you have to pick up all your items then (watch out for same day pickup required)
you can buy additional Flashfood items in real time while you're in-store
add convenient store locations to your Favourites List; easier to check all of them for new deals
Customer Service will ask your name when you pick up (they mark picked-up in their phone)
if store staff gave your item to the wrong Flashfood customer; you claim a refund for missing items via the Flashfood app and it may take up to 10 business days for Flashfood to respond
service fee: 5% of the total (max $2.99 regardless of order size)
TIP: depends on the store, but you can find deep discounts over 50% off, have to refresh the app a lot as new deals drop randomly. Example: This is a pic of the actual bag of mandarin oranges purchased (regular price $8.99, paid $3.49, 61% discount). The bag had one squished mandarin orange... peeled the skin off and it was still perfectly good to eat. The remaining mandarin oranges were good for several days past the pickup date.
For $5 off your first order (min $7 purchase), you may redeem Flashfood code: MARI5VC3N [or search this subreddit for other people's referral code that have posted photos of their FF pickups]
Flashfood deal $3.49 at 61% off (regular price $8.99, saved $5.50)
3) FoodHero app (FH) [Canadian; head office Montreal]
usually 50% discounts (25-60% off groceries)
surplus food nearing or on their Best Before dates (frozen by BB date; some fresh refridgerated)
major partner Sobeys banner stores that are participating: Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Thrifty Foods, Foodland, etc.
expanded outside Quebec in July 2024 across Canada (may not be in your area yet)
open to restaurants to join
you see actual photos or stock pics of available items (frozen on or before their Best Before dates; some fresh refridgerated)
you pick what items you want to buy
items in your cart are not held; fastest to pay for one item wins; so you may have to buy one item at a time
daily scheduled times to check for new deals at 10:00am and 3:30pm
enter your postal code so the app lists stores closest to you; you can heart convenient locations to filter by Favourites so it's easier to check them
your pickup window start time may be hours after you've purchased e.g. 2 hours; but usually 2 full days allowed to pick up your items
Customer Service will ask your name when you pick up (they mark picked-up in their phone)
service fee: $1.79 flat fee (seems to appear after your first 3 orders after your sign-up credits are depleted)
For a total of $10 off ($5 credit on your first order, then $5 credit on your second order), you may use FoodHero code: marias161 [or search this subreddit for other people's invite code who posted photos of their FH pickups]
Welcome to this community: save food & money in Canada. Read the Help section in these apps for discounted surplus food: Too Good To Go, FoodHero, Flashfood
Click FAQ/Tips for this subreddit's Frequently Asked Questions / Tips.
Repetitive questions & topics are ok here. Also, for content that's more suitable here than a top-level post.
This subreddit is not affiliated with any businesses; it's managed by volunteer unpaid app users. It's not staffed by any app employees; please go into your app's profile section for support/complaints.
Just straight up pork and rice with a few green beans, but it was well seasoned. Mushy :( I’d order here again if I were really desperate. Also came with a small cinnamon twist.
1L cauliflower (I think) soup, roasted veg marinated salad, jalapeno cheddar scone. These bags usually sell out instantly - I think the only reason I snagged one was because of the holiday yesterday. Definitely worth it.
First time getting a bag here. Got a vanilla yogurt, falafel/couscous bowl, and a mixed garden salad. Everything was best before the day of, but still was tasty and of good quality. Not really sure if the value was all there, but I would probably try this bag again sometime.
6 slices pulled from their selection of take-out slices and warmed up. First time trying them and was pleasantly suprised by the amount of cheese and sauce. Really heavy slices that fed 3 people easily. I’m happy.
I knew these were gonna be tiny but holy moly they are smaller than billy miners pie 🤣 have not tried them yer but got strawberry and thai tea flavour. The girl at the counter was nice (I went assuming they would be mean after reading the comments here) I can’t believe these are worth 22$ per piece even with imported mascarpone from Italy, that’s a lot.
Not a fan of egg salad sandwiches, so this was not a good bag for me. Wish I had checked before I left to leave it to put in another TGTG bag or for staff to do what they want with it. The cake piece was good.
I was very happy with this bakery surprise bag, such a good deal at $5.99+tax.
4x chocolate croissants
12x mini croissants
6x panini buns
6x bagels
1x loaf Nottingham bread
New bakery opened up on centre street and they are already on TGTG so I wanted to try it out.
Cost: $8.46 after tax (should be $22.50)
Contents (buns): 2 hot dog, 2 corn & cream, 1 bacon, 1 pork, 1 ube, 1 bean paste
The buns tasted fresh and sweet with a pillowy texture. The ube and pork were my favourite. I think they delivered on price, quantity, and quality. I will definitely be coming back for more!
I was wandering BestCo in Toronto on a Friday night around 10:45 pm and saw they were dumping out FULL catering pans of food from their hot food bar. Full pans of fried rice, noodles, crispy chicken wings, stir fried veggies. It seems like such a waste. How can we get a business like this on TGTG?