I got £23.30 worth of Starbucks goodies for £4.50 – here’s how you can do it too
A SAVVY shopper has explained how she bought £23.30 worth of Starbucks food for just £4.50.
The customer used Too Good To Go to get the discounted goodies from the cafe.
The app, which connects customers with restaurants and cafes that have surplus food, aims to fight food waste.
Customers can get bags of food from companies for a reduced price.
Most of the time, they only discover the content of the bag once they collect it from the business.
Explaining how she got the Starbucks goodies, the shopper said on the Ashleigh Money Saver TikTok account: “If you’ve not heard of Too Good To Go, listen up.
“Too Good To Go partners with local restaurants and cafes to sell surplus food at a fraction of the price.
“I got all of this from Starbucks for only £4.50.”
The bag included a croissant, a sausage sandwich, a smoked bacon roll, a cheese twist, as well as a cheese toastie.
The woman added: “The main thing is, using Too Good To Go, you not only get to enjoy delicious meals for less, but you also help reduce food waste.
“It’s a win-win.”
Over 95 million people use the Too Good To Go app around the world.
How does Too Good To Go work?
To use Too Good To Go, download its app on your smartphone and create an account.
You can then select your area by entering your location and drop the pin on where you’ll be picking up your surplus food bags.
On the app, you can select the distance you’d be willing to travel, based on whether you’ll be walking, using public transport or driving.
The app will then show you the Too Good To Go locations available in your area.
These are grouped in categories including supermarkets, groceries and baked goods.
There are also options to collect food straight away, or later for dinner.
You can then scroll through the app to see what’s available and click “see all” to check all the options within a category.
Too Good To Go will then tell you how much you can save with each surprise bag.
Prices usually range between £2 and £6, with shoppers saving at least 30% on every order.
When clicking on a listing, you will get information on the exact location of the cafe, restaurant or supermarket, as well as collection times available, and the price of the bag.
The listing also shows the average rating other users have given that particular business.
Once you’ve decided what you want to pick up, simply click the “reserve” button to ensure it is assigned to you.
You’ll be asked to add your bank details to confirm the reservation and you’ll then receive an email including an invoice and a time window for your collection.
Then go to the shop at the assigned time, show your collection on the app to a staff member and enjoy your discounted surplus food.
How to save on your supermarket shop
THERE are plenty of ways to save on your grocery shop.
You can look out for yellow or red stickers on products, which show when they’ve been reduced.
If the food is fresh, you’ll have to eat it quickly or freeze it for another time.
Making a list should also save you money, as you’ll be less likely to make any rash purchases when you get to the supermarket.
Going own brand can be one easy way to save hundreds of pounds a year on your food bills too.
This means ditching “finest” or “luxury” products and instead going for “own” or value” type of lines.
Plenty of supermarkets run wonky veg and fruit schemes where you can get cheap prices if they’re misshapen or imperfect.
For example, Lidl runs its Waste Not scheme, offering boxes of 5kg of fruit and vegetables for just £1.50.
If you’re on a low income and a parent, you may be able to get up to £442 a year in Healthy Start vouchers to use at the supermarket too.
Plus, many councils offer supermarket vouchers as part of the Household Support Fund.
Other schemes to avoid food waste
In the UK, another popular app that helps reduce food waste is Olio.
The free app allows residents to give away, collect, borrow or lend things for free – not just food, but also other useful items for the home, clothing or unwanted gifts.
Volunteers can also collect surplus food from supermarkets and list it on the app, where other users can request what they need – and it’s all completely free.
Other apps include Karma, which is similar to Too Good To Go as it enables users to rescue fresh food from restaurants, bakeries, cafes and wholesalers that would have otherwise been thrown away.
The main difference between Karma and Too Good To Go is that rather than giving a random selection, the former shows exactly what shoppers will receive in their surplus food bags.
Another app, FoodCloud, connects supermarkets with charities and community groups across the UK and Ireland.
This includes homeless shelters and family support services.
It is estimated that around 9.5 million tonnes of food are wasted in the UK every year.
According to Waste Managed, the top five most wasted foods are bread, potatoes, milk, bananas, salad and vegetables.
These apps can reduce food waste overall while allowing you to save money, but ultimately it’s up to each person to ensure they only buy what they need and eat what they buy so that food doesn’t end up in the bin.
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