ResQuing Food

avatar

5525BE6D-CD33-4B28-BA8B-96A0CE99A52F.jpeg

I’m not gonna pretend like I’m the most eco concious person out there, but as a child born during the early 90’s recession and growing up in a small rural village, I’ve learned that you_do_not_waste_food.

These days every grocery store has an insane amount of choices from bread, meat to dairy products, which obviously leads to a lot of waste since they are the kind of products that spoil fast too. People demand to have all these insane choices for a simple thing like bread, and then what ends up happening is half of the stuff goes to trash every day. I’m sure stores try their best to stock the right amount but it’s impossible to predict accurate what and when people buy. Tons and tons of food ends up going straight to trash, which are all locked up by the way so you can’t go and pick up the leftovers for free. While there are still people starving to death in other parts of the world, we trash our food like there is no tomorrow.

All this waste is a massive problem and I think it can’t be that hard to solve. We are moving to the right direction though since people are starting to pay more attention to this.

There is an app called ResQ here in Finland, that allows restaurants and grocery stores to sell their leftovers easily, and for a reasonable price. That way all the partisipants get their moneys worth. Everything sold is either from todays lunch etc, or groceries which sell by -date is that day or the next. It’s not spoiled food, but mostly something you wanna consume pretty soon. I’ve had the app, per my sisters recommendation, for a long time, but I hadn’t used it cause every time I checked it, all was sold out.

Last night I dug it out, checked what restaurants and grocery stores near me are putting out something I’d be interested in, set them as favourites and put on notifications. I’m most interested in the ’pig in a poke’ type of bags from grocery stores. I’ve seen bread bags, fruit and veggies, and completely random bags listed for very fair prices.

Today I got a notification that there are two bread bags available, 3€ each, in a store nearby, and I jumped to the opportunity. I payed with Apple pay straight in the app, and went to pick up my bread bag, super easy. They show the value being around 8€, but I’m pretty sure the one I got would be closer to 12€. A bargain for someone who happens to really like bread!

I’m definitely gonna keep my eye on the app every day now and snack up all the good deals. Might need to get a bigger freezer though. And a dog.

Do you have anything similar to ResQ app where you live and have you used it?



0
0
0.000
18 comments
avatar

We have something called too-good-to-go here in Denmark.
Which is also used in restuarents and 7-11 :D
The employees pack bags with food there is going to go bad soon and you get it for 1/3 of the normal cost :D

0
0
0.000
avatar

Sounds like too-good-to-be-true 😝

0
0
0.000
avatar

Ye haha ;)
The problem is you dont choose the food yourself xD

0
0
0.000
avatar

I have used ResQ many times and got many good grocery bags, sometimes for example quite lot of more expensive meat. On the other hand sometimes, less frequently tough, they haven't been so good, but always they have clearly been worth of the price.

0
0
0.000
avatar

I’m definitely trying to get my hands on a bag full of random foods, not only bread. It would be fun to try and make dinner from it, mystery box style 😁

0
0
0.000
avatar

It's quite fun, I recommend at least trying it :D

0
0
0.000
avatar

My brother and his wife have a fruit and vegetable store near them that pack up produce near the end of its life into big wooden crates and they sell them for $6 each. My bro buys them and they process the food and it equates to about two weeks of produce for them. They make soups or whatever and freeze them. It's smart. A similar thing to what you're doing here.

As far as I know there's nothing like that App here, but there could be. The issue is insurance I guess...Supermarkets here destroy food before throwing it into dumpsters so the homeless can't get it. They're afraid of litigation. Smaller stores do a little more ResQ stuff and there's a group that collects food and feeds the homeless with it.

Moving forward I think more will embrace it but it's cool you scored some bread. It seems like a great, very easy way, to save some bucks and prevent wastage.

Nice work Eve.

...someone who happens to really like bread!

We have this in common...Among other things. :)

0
0
0.000
avatar

I think we might have the same kind of vegetable service in Helsinki. I’d definitely be ordering if we had the same here.

I really like that restaurants are starting to sell the buffet leftovers for cheap too. I know how it feels to work in a restaurant and throw food into a bin every single day. We’d obviously try to take what we can home but there is so much of it.

0
0
0.000
avatar

I think it's irresponsible to throw good food out as you say. I have a few friends that own cafes and they have arrangements with groups to take the food and distribute it to underprivileged. Seems so logical, and yet supermarkets do not...And consumers pay for the wastage.

0
0
0.000
avatar

I’m pretty sure it was actually illegal not too long ago to sell or even give out food that was about to expire soon. Grocery stores literally could not even feed the extra food to pigs!

0
0
0.000
avatar

Yep, same as here. It's dumb.

0
0
0.000
avatar

Unfortunately we don't have an app like that in Iran yet, but that'd be a great idea to be able to put an stop on unused food going to waste.

0
0
0.000
avatar
(Edited)

In France, there is a law that limits food waste since several years. Stores must lower prices on short dates (-35%, -50%) to limit unsold items.
Unsold items that are still consumable are offered to charitable organizations such as Resto du Coeur, Secours Populaires or Action Contre la Faim. In exchange, the stores receive a tax deduction.
It's win-win.

Translation from French, I hope you understand everything.

image.png

0
0
0.000
avatar

I don’t think it’s the law here but many stores have -30% etc sales on items that are gonna expire that day. My mom told me some religious organisations and charities go and buy those items to give then to the poor. But from what I know, stores don’t give out expiring foods to them for free.

0
0
0.000