Breezing past a bakery just before closing time to pick up cut-priced loaves has long been a thrifty-living hack. But it’s a time-consuming process that doesn’t always bring home the bread.
In the UK and 16 other countries, there’s an easier way: Too Good to Go. The app allows consumers to buy a “surprise bag” that contains food towards the end of its shelf life at a discounted rate. Restaurants and cafes can also use the app to sell ready-made meals, with time slots for customers to drop by and collect them.
Too Good to Go: A Sustainable Solution to Food Waste
In the first half of 2022, the app was ranked alongside McDonald’s and Uber Eats in the top 10 of food apps downloaded worldwide.
The Inspiration Behind Too Good to Go
Too Good to Go is yet to launch in Australia, but co-founder Jamie Crummie credits the sight of 150-litre bins piled with food, while working in the events industry in Brisbane, as a point of inspiration for the business. That was 10 years ago. At the time, the British businessman was working part-time while studying law in Australia.
“As someone who likes to challenge, I thought, ‘Could this food be redistributed? Could it be recycled?’ As far as I could see, this food was just going to waste.”
The Mission to Reduce Food Waste
Crummie has dabbled in simply fishing food out of the bin, but he was cognizant that this practice isn’t for everyone.
It was at a human rights event in Britain the following year, which was catered for by dumpster divers, where he twigged that the market for “this amazing spread of food” was larger than the proportion of the population willing to fish through bins.
He thought about his mother – a long-time activist, who would bring him along to picket lines as a child – as an example of someone who would relish the opportunity to live more sustainably.
“[I got] thinking of how we can get this food to people before it hits the bin in the first instance.”
The Impact of Too Good to Go
Too Good to Go launched in the UK in 2015. It claims to have rescued more than 230m meals from going to waste, and saved 592,000 tonnes of CO2 from being emitted into the atmosphere.
Crummie calls food waste “one of the world’s dumbest problems”, saying humans waste about 40% of the food we produce. It’s also responsible for 8-10% of the world’s carbon emissions. If food waste were a country, it would be the world’s third-largest emitter behind the US and China.
Sustainability and Accessibility
While Too Good To Go is a for-profit business, Crummie says the company’s mission is “very much about democratising accessibility to food and accessibility to a sustainable lifestyle”.
In 2021, the company partnered with brands including PepsiCo and Nestlé on a campaign that encouraged consumers to “look, smell, taste, don’t waste” – rather than blindly following “best before” labels.
Food Waste Apps in Australia
While Crummie’s app is not available in Australia, other food waste apps, including Foody Bag, Y Waste (which partnered with Foodbank during the pandemic) and Bring Me Home, have been developed in recent years. The latter two, however, are no longer available in the app store.
None have achieved the cut-through of Too Good To Go, which is used more than the Domino’s or KFC apps in the UK.
Addressing Food Waste in Australia
In Australia, the work of rescuing food destined for the tip is largely done by charities, such as OzHarvest and Foodbank, who have distributed millions of otherwise wasted meals to the needy.
Chef Boris Portnoy, who owns Melbourne-based wine bar Gray and Gray and bakery All Are Welcome, would also like to see more avenues for businesses and consumers to tackle food waste.
Portnoy says his venues do their best, but it can be hard to find destinations other than landfill for perishable goods such as bread.
“I wish my council thought about composting for traders,” he says. “If the council had weekly compost collection, then I think people who have very small businesses would benefit and produce less waste.”
SDGs, Targets, and Indicators
1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?
- SDG 2: Zero Hunger
- SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
- SDG 13: Climate Action
2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?
- SDG 2.1: By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food all year round.
- SDG 12.3: By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses.
- SDG 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising, and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning.
3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?
- Indicator for SDG 2.1: Proportion of the population facing moderate or severe food insecurity.
- Indicator for SDG 12.3: Food loss index.
- Indicator for SDG 13.3: Number of countries that have communicated the strengthening of institutional, systemic, and individual capacity-building to implement adaptation, mitigation, and technology transfer.
Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators
| SDGs | Targets | Indicators |
|---|---|---|
| SDG 2: Zero Hunger | 2.1: By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food all year round. | Proportion of the population facing moderate or severe food insecurity. |
| SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production | 12.3: By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses. | Food loss index. |
| 12.8: By 2030, ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature. | Number of countries that have communicated the strengthening of institutional, systemic, and individual capacity-building to implement adaptation, mitigation, and technology transfer. | |
| SDG 13: Climate Action | 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising, and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning. | Number of countries that have communicated the strengthening of institutional, systemic, and individual capacity-building to implement adaptation, mitigation, and technology transfer. |
Behold! This splendid article springs forth from the wellspring of knowledge, shaped by a wondrous proprietary AI technology that delved into a vast ocean of data, illuminating the path towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Remember that all rights are reserved by SDG Investors LLC, empowering us to champion progress together.
Source: theguardian.com
Join us, as fellow seekers of change, on a transformative journey at https://sdgtalks.ai/welcome, where you can become a member and actively contribute to shaping a brighter future.
