An app in Halifax is aiming to reduce food waste across the city.

Too Good to Go, an app created to help lower food wastage was founded in Denmark in 2016 and hit the Canadian market in 2021. It is now available in 16 cities in Canada with its most recent launch in Halifax. The app works to help connect businesses to consumers to sell surplus food at a discount. 

Businesses create an account where they can post items that are about to expire at a discounted price and then consumers can browse the app for items available near them.

"We are heavily reliant on our partners to ensure food safety, just as they are responsible for ensuring that anything they're selling in store has met all of the safety requirements," Sarah Soteroff from Too Good to Go says.

Canada creates 50 million tonnes of food waste every year, a report from Made in CA shows. 

“We know that more than 58 per cent of food in Canada goes to waste,” Soteroff says. “Globally, that number is 40 per cent, so we are worse than the globe.”

Love Food Hate Waste says the impact of avoidable food waste in Canada is equal to 2.1 million and 6.9 million tonnes of CO2.

The app’s main goal is to reduce food wastage globally, but the company says the reduced prices can also help those experiencing food-insecurity.

“If you buy a huge produce bag that is $5.99 on the app, you’re getting three times that amount in your bag,” Soteroff says. “So that’s a fantastic way for people to reduce the food costs that are exorbitantly increasing.”

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