If there is anything in this world that I consider myself an absolute expert in, it’s Too Good To Go. I’d even go as far as self-proclaiming myself as Too Good To Go Queen. This app is probably the only reason why my bank balance is still above 0 and I have a roof over my head. And I am not exaggerating, it is a lifesaver for people whose most financially prominent years are still way ahead (what a beautiful euphemism for being broke, take notes kids!).
What is Too Good To Go?
I perhaps wrongly assumed that everyone knows what Too Good To Go is, but for the ones who are not familiar with it, let me provide a short introduction. It is an app where you can purchase food at discounted prices. It allows the stores to sell the products that would otherwise be thrown away, and thus oftentimes you’d see yourself getting items that expire on the same or next day. It will, however, usually be edible for a couple of days after their expiration date.
How to start using Too Good To Go?
You might say “Ok, Anna, now we know what it is, but how to get started?”. Don’t worry, I have all the answers! Below, I wrote down all the tips and tricks on how to be successful on your Too Good To Go journey.
1. Download And Get Familiar with the App
The app can be downloaded from App Store and Google Play. The main functions you should know are how to find the nearest stores, how to add a store to your favorites, and how to make a purchase. You can read about those, and many more functionalities in this post.
2. Explore All Nearby Stores for Best Too Good To Go Deals
I know it might be tempting to just stick to one good store that you found, but I would suggest giving each store at least one chance. Buy one package in all nearby stores and pick your favorites this way. Of course, it will take some time, but speaking from experience I’d say that it is worth it. If you live in Leuven, you can read my list of the best and worst spots in town.
3. Read Descriptions
I’m not talking about the food labels but about the stores’ descriptions in the app. Some stores require you to bring your own container to pack the food. If you don’t, you’ll usually be charged extra. If they won’t have anything to pack your food, then you’d probably leave the store empty-handed (almost happened to us once!). Another tip is to bring a bigger container than they ask for, as they probably won’t mind you taking even more extra food.
4. Be Comfortable Eating Expired Food
Yes, you read that correctly – expired food is oftentimes edible food. It doesn’t mean that all food that you get in the package should be eaten. Use your senses, if something smells or feels a bit funny – you might be rolling the dice. You know, the “living on the edge” for the broke students. 🥲
While most of the food will stay edible for a couple of days, don’t leave it in the fridge for a week or so, unless you want to have a three-day involuntary break from life due to food poisoning. This rule applies mostly to meat.
5. Cook Food Promptly
I know, we’re all sometimes lazy, but using this app requires some sort of rigor. It’s best to cook and meal prep the food right after receiving it, or the next morning at most. To increase the shelf-life, many things can be canned, if you don’t know how to do it, read my article about the quick, polish grandma-approved caning method.
6. Make Freezer Your Best Friend
While meal prep and canning are great, NOTHING beats freezing. I used to have an issue with one of the stores, as it kept giving me lots of celery. I don’t mind celery, it’s great with hummus, but everyone has their limits. I wasted a bit of it, I’m not going to lie, but then I just started freezing it. And guess what? The store stopped giving me celery. Thanks to the fact that I froze quite a bit, I now always have some when I’m making soup.
Another great tip is freezing a mix of vegetables. In Poland, where I come from, it’s very common to find a cheap frozen mix of vegetables for literally any soup or dish you can think of. Here in Belgium, it can be found as well, but it’s not as affordable, and the variety is scarce, so I make my own instead 😊
7. Beware If You Have Any Dietary Restrictions
Too Good To Go is not the most vegan/gluten-free/you-name-it-friendly app. If you live in Leuven, you can check my guide, where I will point you to the vegetarian/vegan-friendly stores or packages in town. If you live somewhere else, you might try asking on Reddit, it has quite an active Too Good To Go community. In bigger cities, which tend to have more options on the app, the vegan packages are usually tagged, but that’s not necessarily the case in smaller towns, so you might have to find a friend to share the package with.
8. Avoid Supermarkets When Far From Home
This tip comes from a funny anecdote. It happened to me and my boyfriend in Brussels. We were on our way to catch the train to Leuven, and I got hungry. I found a supermarket just 100 m (about 330 ft) away that had a package available at that time and I purchased it. Instead of getting something nice to eat, we ended up having… to carry a 10kg bag of vegetables. It was the biggest bag we’ve ever had, and the timing was the worst possible. If you’re on a trip and want to use Too Good To Go, don’t buy stuff from supermarkets. Instead, stick to bakeries, restaurants, and hotels.
9. Narrow Your Search Radius to 3 km
The default search area in the app is 10 km (about 6 mi) from your location. But let’s be real, do you really want to travel 10 km to get those carrots? If you’re lucky enough to have a car, that probably won’t be a problem. However, I assume that if you have a car, you don’t use Too Good To Go 😆 It means, that you’re left with public transportation or a bike. Just stick to a 3 km (2 mi) radius and thank me later. If you don’t know how to set the location check out my detailed guide.
10. Don’t Become Obsessed
It’s very tempting to keep purchasing those bags but remember that they’re not free and you buy them to save money (and reduce food waste). Another thing to keep in mind is – be careful with the bakeries. It is very easy to end up with a whole bag of sweet pastries, but try not to get too many of them, unless you don’t mind a few extra kilos or frequent visits to the dentist.
11. Prepare for Last-Minute Cancellations
Can I count how many times a sushi restaurant canceled my order? I don’t think so (looking at you, Sushi Mama). At first, I was very disappointed as the pickup time was very late and I was waiting just for that. I don’t think there is a solution, just be aware that it happens to avoid frustration.
12. Report Unsatisfactory Experiences
I bought many packages, so naturally, some of them were total failures or… scams – you name it. Sometimes the store was closed during pick up time. Each time after reporting it, and providing sufficient evidence (photos), I got refunded. I have to say that Too Good To Go’s customer service works excellently, and I never had any issues with it, so make sure to report bad experiences whenever they happen. If you don’t know how to do it, check out this guide.
13. Exchange If You Can
While I stand very firmly behind this tip, I must be honest with you, that it will be the hardest one to execute. Most of the people are not very consistent, and it will be hard to find another Too Good To Go freak, so you’ll probably end up donating, rather than exchanging, the products that you’re not interested in eating. But, hey, it’s still better than nothing!
With these 13 tips, you’ll be well-equipped to navigate the TooGoodToGo app effectively, enjoying discounted food while contributing to a sustainable lifestyle. If you find them useful feel free to share them with the buttons below. Have I missed something? Let me know in the comments below!
If you want to support this blog, instead of buying one extra Too Good To Go bag, you can buy me a coffee. Thank you so much! ❤️
Until next time,
A.
