We all love food! Food is something that brings us together; it brings us joy, comfort and new experiences. The journey that our food takes before ending up on our plates is a complex one, and longer than you’d expect. At the Beagle Button, we're supporting people to keep doing the things they live whilst minimising their impact on the planet, and this is particularly relevant for what we eat!
The reality around food waste is shocking. WRAP reports that between retail, hospitality and our own households, we throw away 5.6 million tonnes of edible food every year. Food waste ends up in landfills, releasing harmful greenhouse gases as it decomposes. The good news is that total food waste is going down, and there are some brilliant free apps that are available to help us do our bit to rescue food before it gets thrown away. We’ve put together an overview of our top five apps that help you takes matters into your own hands.
Too Good to Go
The Too Good to Go app links you up with local cafes, restaurants and businesses that have excess food, giving you the opportunity to reserve a Too Good to Go ‘Magic Bag.’ Each bag contains delicious food that would otherwise go to waste. You can see an overview of what your bag contains, but the specific contents are a surprise, giving the retailer much needed flexibility so nothing is unnecessarily thorwn away. Plus this adds an element of intrigue! Since 2016, Too Good to Go has rescued 1,939,888 Magic Bags from being wasted, saved 4,849,720kg of CO2 emissions and supported 3,806 UK businesses in their fight against food waste.
The app is just one part of a worldwide movement that they are driving, working with schools and individuals to give advice on how to avoid food waste. Too Good to Go is also encouraging the UK government to establish better policies around how food is manufactured and sold.
Download the app today. You’ll be chuffed to see some of your favourite restaurants are involved!
OLIO
OLIO is a great way to share excess food with those who live near you. You simply upload items onto the app that you no longer need. Perhaps you’ve grown far too many vegetables! If you can’t eat them all, you can just pop what you don’t need on the app and see who can take them off your hands. Similarly, you may have been gifted some treats that you cannot physically get through before they go off. Since launching in 2015, 4,839,861 portions of food have been shared on the app. OLIO also links up with schools and businesses to rescue their food waste, and redistribute it.
Why not have a browse and see what’s up for grabs in your area, and check if there’s anything in your cupboards that would be better shared!
Karma
If you want to tackle food waste, Karma is for you! The app connects you with some of your favourite cafes and restaurants, offering you their excess food for 50% off. You can pick up beautiful sourdough loaves for a little over £1, or some lunchtime Gyoza and Sushi for £3. The Karma app is a great way to buy delectable food every day that would otherwise go to to waste. Many retailers do have specific pick-up times, so we recommend checking out your restaurant of choice an hour or two before you plan to eat. This will give you sufficient time to order and collect within the alloted time slots.
Karma have calculated that together with their customers and partners, the food that has been rescued is the equivalent of six million kilometres of driving a car. That is a long drive... specifically, it is 242 times around the globe in an aeroplane. Madness!
Farmdrop
Farmdrop is an ethical supermarket, which connects producers directly to customers. By creating this platform Farmdrop has helped to reduce food waste. This app has brought producers and consumers closer together, and improved general understanding of food demand. Producers only make what has been pre-ordered by customers, this results in zero waste! There is also less risk of damage in transit, as products do not travel along otherwise lengthy supply chains.
We particularly like their Fruit and Veg bundles, and their Made by Farmdrop range of ready-to-eat meals. Prices are generally at a premium level, but you get the satisfaction of knowing most of the total cost goes straight to the producers. There is no supermarket chain taking a big cut. Moreover, you are helping to support healthier supply chains than produce singificantly less waste.
No Waste
The No Waste app does what it says on the tin. It allows you to track what’s in your fridge, freezer and cupboards at home, and keep an eye on what is expiring soon. The app has some clever features such as scanning your receipt, or the barcodes on items to log their expiry dates. You can also manually log when you’ve eaten something, or had to throw it away. This will help you learn about your personal food waste, and educate you on how you can reduce your overall waste. The app is simple but effective, and it is a great way to learn about which items are high-risk, so that you can plan your meals accordingly.
All of these apps are a great place to start when it comes to looking at what you can do to reduce your total food waste. It is really satisfying to know that you have stopped delicious food that has been produced with care, from going to waste.
Who are we again?
The Beagle Button is designed to make switching to a more sustainable, eco-friendly lifestyle easier. From fashion to homeware to foods, by becoming a user we’ll notify you whenever we find a “better” option for the product you’re looking at. Our recommendation can be personalised to match your preferences, such as being vegan, sustainable, animal friendly or plastic free. However, one thing all recommendations have in common is that they’re products we thoroughly believe in. We love each product that we recommend, and we are certain you’ll love them too.
By downloading the Beagle Button, we can recommend brilliant products and services, such as these five apps tackling food waste. Our social media accounts are also focused on keeping you informed so you can make positive decisions. Together we are paving the way towards a more sustainable future. Visit our homepage to sign up.