Too Good To Go

[Dave Gray]

This is an app, similar to UberEats, but instead of food delivery, it partners with local restaurants and prepared food makers to sell you their end of shift foods at a much reduced cost.

How it works:
* Look on the app in your area for available mystery bags.  Common ones are:
- prepared foods from Whole Foods
- a dozen donuts from Krispy Kreme
- a selection of items from a dinner buffet
- bagels or breads from a bakery
- many, many others.
* Order a mystery bag in advance for pickup later
- my area usually has bags sold out for evening pickup by before 11 AM the same day, sometimes earlier.  Different areas have different results.  I have seen someone order and go pickup in the moment.


Positives:
Food costs about 1/3 of what it normally would (usually less, because they overdeliver what's left)
Kind of fun to not know what you're going to get

Negatives:
Pickup time is often later than you'd be having that meal
You don't get to pick your items
Freshness is good in the moment, but will likely not last, as you're probably getting things nearing the expire date


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I have ordered one time.  I got a delivery at Whole Foods, because I was going to be close by after a movie let out, so I knew I'd be there.  The pickup time was 9 PM.  I paid $10 for a $30 grab bag.  The bag was described as prepared food likely to include meals, sides, and maybe a soup.

In the bag, I received:
An appetizer of kimchee dumplings in a spicy sauce (ready to eat cold) -- It was more than 1 serving....probably appropriate for 4 people.  They were good.
A side of something called farro, which is a cold grain-salad, similar to quinoa.  It was served cold and has veggies mixed in.  It was also good and served about 4 people....ready to eat.
A family size green-bean caserole that needed to be cooked in a pre-heated over for 30 minutes.  It served seven people.
And (this is the weird one) -- 24 ounces of Turkey Gravy, that probably took the place of where soup would normally go.

It was obvious that I was getting the overstock from Thanksgiving on at least the casserole and the gravy.  Determined to make this work, I ate about half the dumplings the night of and the rest the next day.  So, I'd say they were successful and not something I ever would have picked.

I ate a portion of the farro salad the night of, which I liked and then my daughter smashed the remainder of it the next day after school and she thought it was incredible.  Again...never something I would have chosen.

I tested the gravy the night of, over a hot dog -- just to try the flavor.  It was good...more on this later.

So, I also went to Costco the next day and (knowing what I had at home) bought a $5 rotisserie chicken and a frozen mashed potatoes.  I then went home for lunch and baked the casserole.  My family isn't all that fun and adventurous with stuff like this, so I was on my own.  I ate chicken, mashed potatoes with a very high-brow turkey gravy, and green bean casserole for a lot of meals over the last few days.  I even open a can of cranberry sauce to round it out.

Today, I discarded the remainder of the green bean casserole, because I am but one man.  At some point, you've had enough.  Seven servings is simply too much with no help.  And I don't know if you realize how much gravy is in 24 ounces in regular practice....that's a flippin' lot of gravy.  So, I still have the gravy, but even eating it all day/all night, I still have about 1/3 of it left.

I definitely got my money's worth and it was kind of fun.  At first, I thought the gravy was the hardest item to make work, but that turned out not to be true.  If I were to do this over, I probably would've made meatballs in the crock pot and used the gravy as the sauce -- got it all done in one go. 

But I think it was the green beans that put me over the edge.  They are filling, distinct, and it's not like they pair with a bunch of different types of food.  You don't have a sandwich with a side of hot green-bean casserole.  The sheer amount of green bean casserole was insurmountable for an individual.

My experience was mixed, but I want to try it again -- both at Whole Foods and at other places.

[Sunstroke]

Once they get pretty much anything in my area, I'll definitely check it out. I d/led the app, and the only "surprise bag" currently listed in my area is from... Circle K   

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Ahh, I was wondering what my friend was bitching about. Her organization collects food overstock from restaurants and delivers it to soup kitchens and homeless shelters.  This app or something similar they lost several of their best donors.  I didn't understand how they were selling the formerly donated food but she was quite pissed about it.  It came up in our discussion of UHC and corporate greed.

[Dave Gray]

Once they get pretty much anything in my area, I'll definitely check it out. I d/led the app, and the only "surprise bag" currently listed in my area is from... Circle K   

Do they have anything that says "deals that were popular today"?  It's possible, if not likely, that there are no more deals for anything but Circle K for today.  Check back tomorrow (and maybe even close to midnight, as sometimes they sell out very fast.)

[Phishfan]

Thanks for the heads up. I think we might try this.

[Sunstroke]

OK, in the interests of science...as well as my own extreme curiosity, I decided to try the Too Good To Go Circle-K surprise bag, because...

1) This particular Circle-K is only 2 blocks from home
2) The bag was listed as a $12.00 cost, for a $3.99 price, and that's dirt cheap for a scientific endeavor

The bag contained three items...

1) A turkey and pepper jack cheese sandwich
2) A cherry pocket pastry pie
3) A lemon pocket pastry pie

The sandwich was pretty tasty...added a little mayo and it was lunch-able. The pies will wait for later.

Overall, it was worth the $3.99 cost, but not the screaming deal I was hoping for.

I'll keep an eye out for real restaurants in the area to get involved.

And Dave...I used their search function and expanded to a 15 mile radius.

We're just a small town...we'll catch up.

[Dave Gray]

And Dave...I used their search function and expanded to a 15 mile radius.

We're just a small town...we'll catch up.

Maybe.  But what I meant is that maybe the other deals were already grabbed up and Circle K was the only thing left in the choices.

But you're right -- it could just be that there aren't a lot of participating locations.  Mine have been sold out so, so early every day.

[Spider-Dan]

I'm too picky of an eater to buy any "mystery bag."
But it seems like a good deal if you're on a serious budget.

[Dave Gray]

I have tried my second thing: Habibi Nutrition

My pickup time was at 11 AM and was cheap....like $4 or something like that.

So, I get there and it's like little mini gym with workout equipment and a smoothie bar.  They essentially have workout classes, personal trainers, but then they make these nutritional shakes and sell supplements and stuff.

I basically bought a vitamin smoothie for $4, which is fine, I guess, but seems specifically suited towards a workout regimen, which I wasn't doing at the time.

It's kind of cool that I discovered the place and the cost of the classes was actually very reasonable, but I think I'd be turned off at the whole supplement nature of it.  I wouldn't mind going in there to do group classes 3X a week and it's close to my house, but to be upsold on shakes and powders every time really isn't in my wheelhouse.

I am more likely to go in for classes than for another TooGoodToGo order.

But it seems like a good deal if you're on a serious budget.

In some cases, maybe.  It's kinda money-saving, but you're saving money on things that are expensive to begin with in a lot of cases (prepared foods or upscale items).  This feels much more of a way to be adventurous or maybe not to waste food -- and it will be budget neutral, perhaps....but doing this regularly would probably still cost you, as opposed to the alternative.  I guess it depends on what you picked up and where.