To mark National Stop Food Waste Day, taking place today, 1 March, Too Good To Go has offered tips to help make the most of the day.
Since its launch in Ireland in 2022, Too Good To Go has gathered a user base of over half a million people.
The app enables businesses to sell food that is to be disposed at a discounted price. This helps businesses maximise income and minimise waste, as well as providing a good deal to customers.
In 2023, users in Ireland saved over 510,000 meals from going to waste. As well as this, 953 additional businesses, including Aldi and SuperValu, joined the app in the same time period.
This increased the reach of the app, which is most active in Dublin and Galway.
The country director of the app, Sophie Trueman, has offered tips to reduce food waste and enact the mission of Too Good To Go.
Tips To Make Your Groceries Last
- Put a damp tea towel in with greens, like spinach or salad leaves.
The moisture-wicking material stops excess moisture from causing the greens to deteriorate prematurely.
- Be mindful of which foods you store together.
Some produce can release chemicals that speed up the ripening process for other fruits and vegetables. For example, while onions and potatoes should be stored in the same conditions, onions cause potatoes to speed up the sprouting process. Because of this, they should be stored as far away from each other as possible.
- Remove the tops straight away.
Sometimes, root vegetables – such as beetroots or carrots – come with the tops still attached. These draw moisture from the vegetable, causing it to go off at a quicker pace. As soon as these vegetables are brought home, it is best to remove the leafy tops.
- Store raw vegetables in water, to keep their crunch.
Cut vegetables such as carrots, celery and cucumber into sticks and store them in an airtight jar of cold water, to keep them crunchy. It is important to change the water every day or so, to keep it fresh.
Ten Ways To Reduce Waste At Home
- Plan ahead, and buy what you need.
Plan meals a week in advance, and always make a shopping list. This helps to ensure that you save money in the long term and don’t waste food, as you avoid midweek trips to the shop.
- Explore your options.
Too Good To Go surprise bags and meals can offer great inspiration, or even a full meal, on days when you feel uninspired.
- Make use of the whole ingredient.
Embrace the whole vegetable! Why not use leftover broccoli stalks to make a broccoli pesto?
- Don’t discount fruit and vegetables based on how they look.
Don’t judge food by its appearance – oddly shaped or bruised fruits taste fine, despite not looking the best. Even more mature fruits and vegetables can be used for smoothies or juices.
- Check your fridge temperature.
Setting your fridge below 5 ºC is ideal for extending the life of perishables such as milk and yoghurt.
- Understand date labels and trust your senses with best-before dates.
Often food is still OK after the best-before date, but it is no longer safe to eat after the use-by date. Use your senses to check the food, and never eat anything that looks or smells off.
- Keep your kitchen organised.
It is easier to put everything to use when you know it’s there. Try to audit your cupboards every one to two weeks, so you know what needs eating before it goes off.
- Take care with portion sizes.
Research by Too Good To Go has suggested that 23% of people throw away food because there is not enough left on the plate to save. Try find your own hacks for measuring food, to avoid unnecessary waste.
- When in doubt, freeze.
Freeze something if you think that you might not use it right then and there. Batch cooking is a handy way to use up fresh ingredients, and it’s always handy to have something for when you don’t want to cook from scratch.
- Get creative with your leftovers.
Instead of eating the same thing every day to use up leftovers, try to mix it up. Turn leftover Bolognese into a chilli con carne, or leftover fish into fishcakes. The only limit is your creativity, so have fun with it!
Read More: Too Good To Go App Announces 100m Meals Saved In One Year
