PRESS RELEASESWORLD’S #1 FOOD WASTE FIGHTING APP LAUNCHES IN BOSTON

Boston, MA (October 6, 2020) – Across Massachusetts, more than a million tons of food waste is disposed in the trash in a year1, preventable losses that impact global warming.

To help both households and restaurants take action in the fight against food waste, Too Good To Go, the world’s #1 app for fighting food waste, is bringing its proven model to the US, selecting Boston as one of its first launch markets.

Via an easy-to-use mobile app, Too Good To Go connects restaurants, bakeries, cafes, and markets to neighborhood residents, enabling them to save meals by picking up surplus food that would otherwise be tossed. Already available in 15 international markets including Paris, London and Amsterdam, with more than 25 million downloads, its users have saved 47 million meals.

“While Boston is already making efforts to curb food waste, including setting a Zero Waste goal, there’s always more that can be done,” said says Too Good To Go co-founder Lucie Basch. “Cities like Boston, where there’s already interest from households to contribute to solutions, are the ideal launching pads for our US presence. Together with the great restaurant community here in Boston, we feel we can really make an immediate impact.”

Too Good To Go is now available Boston and Cambridge with an initial 70 partners including Boston Public Market’s Levend Bagelry and Red Apple Farm, financial district fan-favorite Al’s, Area Four, All Star Pizza in Cambridge and specialty grocers like The Butcherie in Brookline. Aggressive growth plans will see at least 300 Boston partners by end of the year.

“This has been a challenging year like no other for restaurants, but the commitment to helping solve a global problem is heartening,” said Gaeleen Quinn, Too Good To Go's East Coast Director. “While climate issues often feel overwhelming, this is a win for restaurants, consumers and the environment that can make an impact right away.”

Beantown’s Food Waste Know-How

According to a recent survey commissioned by Too Good To Go2, 86% of city area residents want to do more to reduce their food waste. At the same time, education around the benefits of reducing food waste is lagging.

The survey also found that while 85% of Bostonians are concerned about climate change, they don’t recognize food waste as the big contributor it is. While Bostonians rank activities like using renewable energy and recycling high in terms of climate impact, reducing food waste is low on their list of solutions, with just 7% of people understanding the major impact it could have.

“The reality is that reducing food waste is one of the most impactful ways to help the environment and everyday changes, like using the Too Good To Go app, are a great way to start. By the time a consumer uses the service two times, they’ll have prevented the CO2e equivalent of charging 638 smartphones,” concluded Basch.

1 MassDEP, 2016

2 Geo CARAVAN survey conducted by ENGINE INSIGHTS among a sample of 504 residents in the Boston DMA 18 years of age and older. This survey was conducted September 22-27, 2020.

About Too Good To Go

Too Good To Go, a certified B Corp, is a social impact company leading the food waste revolution to create a greener planet. Their app connects consumers to surplus food from local restaurants and grocery stores, such as pastries, fresh produce, sushi and more, which would otherwise be thrown away to make room for the next batch of goods. Each meal rescued equates to the CO2e emission of charging one smartphone fully 422 times. Founded in 2016, Too Good To Go has saved nearly 50 million meals across 15 countries, which adds up to 200 million pounds of food. Beyond the app, Too Good To Go has launched initiatives to change date labeling on food, produced free educational resources for schools and inspired households to change food waste behaviors.