Vancouver bakeries sign up with zero-waste app, ‘Too Good To Go’

B2C marketplace app for surplus food, Too Good To Go was recently unveiled in Vancouver.

Previously launched in Toronto, the app is designed to help food industries in Canada fight food waste by offering “Surprise Bags of Food” that would otherwise go to waste.

In Vancouver, Too Good To Go has partnered with over 90 businesses across the city with sustainable bakery leaders such as Terra Breads and Flourist among other food industries.

Janna Bishop, the Co-Founder and CEO of Vancouver-based bakery and flour mill, Flourist, said in a statement, “our goal is to have as little waste as possible. We’ve learned to creatively adapt during the past year by having new distribution streams for our products. Too Good To Go provides the perfect solution to connect us with customers to help ensure that surplus food is not wasted.”

“We have always considered ourselves responsible for the improvement of the communities we serve,” said Michael Lansky, President and Founder of Terra Breads in the same statement.”It’s this purpose that drives Terra Breads to contribute to communities through partnerships with organizations such as Too Good To Go. We’re proud to demonstrate our commitment to improving our communities with this perfect partnership! To feed more people with the food we’re already making is good for everyone. Too Good To Go fits with our purpose perfectly”.

Globally, 40 per cent of all food goes to landfills, which accounts for 10 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions yearly; for comparison, flight travel contributes 1 per cent, globally. During the pandemic, production has been upended and purchase habits have been unpredictable, often leading to increased food waste.

Nationally, Canadians throw out 35.5 million tonnes of food, equivalent to the weight of nearly 1.2 million humpback whales. Food waste has a significant economic impact as well, in British Columbia an estimated $1.3 billion worth of food is wasted per year in food store and food service businesses, which is 57 per cent more than the estimated profit in those sectors.

The easy to use Too Good To Go app is available for iOS download in the Apple App Store and Google Play for Android. Follow Too Good To Go on Instagram for the latest updates or visit TooGoodToGo.ca.