Too Good To Go is helping more and more Cardiff families eat quality food on a budget as food prices soar
ALTHOUGH Too Good To Go is mainly seen as a food waste pioneer, the app is becoming even more popular with users during the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
The app offers treats and meals for a lower price in a bid to combat food waste. But with the cost-of-living crisis seeing the price of food jump up by 15% this winter according to ONS, Too Good To Go is proving to be a great relief to people wanting food for a lower price.
Last month, a Too Good To Go survey of British consumers found that their main burden was the increasing food prices impacting their daily budget.
Too Good To Go is definitely popular in Cardiff, with 148 different options offering pastry treats, roast dinners, and cheese delicacies.
The starting price is £1.99 for a bag of groceries at One Stop and the highest price is £10.99 at The Golden Dragon for a bag of Chinese food worth £30.
The Naked Vegan is one of the many Too Good To Go providers in Cardiff. It is based in Cardiff market and has won Vegan Bakery of Year in both 2021 and 2022.
Chris Powney, owner of the independent bakery, has experienced first-hand the cost-of-living struggle: “As a business we have been badly impacted by this cost-of-living crisis. We have had to lay a couple of people off.”
Despite this, the bakery continues to help people in Cardiff enjoy their delicacies at a lower price. For just £3.33 The Naked Vegan offers a bag of surprises worth at least £10.
“I would rather someone enjoy our food for a lower price than it go to waste,” said Mr Powney.
With the cost-of-living crisis hitting many people hard, it is not surprising that the deals for a cheap treat on Too Good To Go remain popular.
The award-winning bakery owner said: “There is still a big demand for our Too Good To Go bags, even during the cost-of-living crisis. I haven’t seen less people collecting our bags. In fact, as soon as our bags go live on the app, people buy it within 20 minutes. It all runs out.
“They are very popular. We even have customers coming in to ask why we haven’t put a bag up for a while. We definitely have a demand for it.”
Katrina Rohman, a blogger for Real Girls Wobble, is one of the people who is part of the continuing demand for Too Good To Go during the cost-of-living crisis. She uses the app to feed both her and her partner on a budget and often grabs extra items for her parents.
Ms Rohman, who lives in Taff’s Well, said: “I am quite conscientious when it comes to food. I sit down and write a weekly plan so I know what I need.
“I bulk buy mainly, that is why I use the app. It means that we do not waste money, especially with bills going up.”
Too Good To Go has become a life-saver for many people trying to feed themselves and their family. Sarah Davies, who also lives in Taff’s Well, uses the app at least once a week.
“Too Good To Go mainly advertises itself as cutting back on food waste. But it’s not just a trend. They are actually helping people,” said Ms Davies.
The mum-of-one says that each bag she buys has fed both her and her husband nine times out of ten: “It is a lot cheaper to use Too Good To Go. I have a little one and a husband. We tend to buy an afternoon or evening bag because it saves us from worrying about finding food the next day.
“Some bags provide our lunch and afternoon snack for a couple of days and sometimes even our bread for the week.”
Ms Davies and her husband are avid users of Too Good To Go in Cardiff
Ms Davies is currently studying Environmental Health at Cardiff Metropolitan University and finds herself buying the bags a lot when she is studying as it saves time.
“My degree means I have a good judgement on how long I can make food last and what goes off quickly. It is a great thing to combat the cost-of-living struggle,” said the student.
However with the impact of the cost-of-living crisis continuing to grow, Ms Davies is finding that she is starting to use the app less.
She said: “I find that some days there is not much left on the app. I do think it is sometimes a hit and miss depending on what you want.”
Ms Davies also admitted that there are very few businesses that provide Too Good To Go on the outskirts of Cardiff, especially in her area of Taff’s Well.
“I have to drive into the centre a lot to find a good bag sometimes,” said Ms Davies.
Ms Rohman agreed: “I’d use it more if there was a variety locally. The majority of places are in the city centre. Working from home, it is not practical to pay transport fees.”
With only one Too Good To Go provider within a two-mile radius of Taff’s Well – The Welsh Cheese Company priced at £6.70 – there are very few options outside of the city centre.
One option outside the city centre is Starbucks on Albany Road, Roath. To determine whether Too Good To Go is really a bargain during the current economic crisis, The Cardiffian purchased a bag from this provider. The bag cost a total of £4 and was very simple to collect. I had to download the app, select a bag and then swipe across to mark when I collected it
The bag was great value for money. It contained three boxes of ‘Egg bites with three cheese and ham’ (£3.20 each), one ‘Five cheese toastie’ (£5.10), and one ‘All-butter croissant’ (£2.20).
For just one person this was an easy breakfast and two lunches. Without Too Good To Go these five items would have usually cost £16.90 so the app saved me nearly £13.
The app is a clear money-saver for those wanting a treat or some cheaper food. Too Good To Go’s empire in Cardiff alone appears to be growing and continuing to tackle both food waste and the cost-of-living crisis.
