As much as 40% of the food we produce ends up in landfills.
That means all of the water, land, labor, money, and greenhouse gas emissions used to create the food are wasted too.
A new app called Too Good To Go just launched in the Triangle and is hoping to cut down on that waste while saving consumers money.
Barbara Nigro, owner of Little Barb’s Bakery in Durham, is one of the 40 businesses signed up to offer surplus food in surprise bags at a deep discount.
“When I put bags on the app they go in like two seconds, so it’s really nice to see we don’t have to throw anything away,” Nigro said.
Sarah Soteroff with Too Good to Go says the app is in markets all over the world and has saved more than 350 million meals globally.
“Our ultimate goal is to reduce the impact of food waste on the environment,” Soteroff said.
Methane from food waste accounts for about 8% of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the USDA. In contrast, air travel only accounts for about 2%.
“I think that is insane,” Nigro said. “It’s heartbreaking.”
One of the surprise bags from Little Barb’s had $15 of baked goods including day-old cheddar bacon biscuits and fresh peach cheesecake with an aesthetic imperfection available for $5 on the app.
“They are the giddiest customers ever and they are just like ‘we love Too Good to Go,'” Nigro said. “It’s been a really awesome experience and we’ve only been doing this for a few weeks.”
