Is this app the best way to get cheap food from Triangle restaurants & grocers?

Wandering around a grocery store or farmers market without an agenda, assembling a meal with whatever looks delicious, sounds delightful to me. But I know my weaknesses, and it’s not a practical way to shop.

Without a list, I’ll forget an ingredient for a dish, and then I’ll regret my decision to try to be spontaneous.

But recently, I heard about an app that gives me the candid experience I’m craving, and at a low price — a win-win situation for this non-risk-taker.

The app, Too Good To Go, partners with businesses such as restaurants and grocery stores to help reduce food waste. Since it started in Copenhagen in 2016, Too Good To Go has helped save more than 600 million meals across 20 countries from being wasted, the company says on its website.

Too Good To Go launched in the Triangle about two years ago, and now, Raleigh shoppers may purchase bags filled with produce or prepared foods from Whole Foods Market, baked goods from Tiff’s Treats or empanadas from Che Empanadas at Transfer Co. Food Hall, to name a few options.

The “surprise bags” come at steep discounts but may contain items at or past their expiration date. (Remember, in almost all cases, “best by” and other labels indicate quality, not food safety.)

What can you buy with Too Good To Go?

Intrigued by the idea, and curious whether Too Good To Go is too good to be true, I decided to purchase surprise bags from The Fresh Market and Krispy Kreme.

The grocery surprise bag from The Fresh Market, advertised as “a surprise assortment of peak-flavor food inspired by the open-air markets of Europe,” cost me $10.20, but was valued at $30.

Here’s what my bag contained:

• A box of Manischewitz marble cake mix (best by November 2027)
• Blue Diamond almond nut thins, the hint of sea salt flavor (best by January 2027)
• Madegood soft baked cookie bites (best by February 2027)
• Yehuda gluten-free matzo meal (no obvious best by date)
• A few bars: a Jambar (best by June 18, 2026), Probar meal bar (best by July 2026) and a Barebells protein bar (best by April 2027)
• Riega blackened chicken bowl seasoning (best by April 2027)
• Kevin’s Natural Foods paleo honey garlic sauce (best by January 2027)

Krispy Kreme promised to give me a dozen “delicious doughnuts” from the case for $6.85, a discount of about $12. Here’s what was in my box:

• Two original glazed doughnuts
• One each of chocolate and strawberry iced doughnuts with sprinkles
• A chocolate iced “Kreme” filled doughnut
• An Oreo “Cookies & Kreme” filled doughnut
• Four New York cheesecake filled doughnuts
• An original glazed blueberry cake doughnut
• A very playful soccer rainbow doughnut

Is Too Good To Go worth it?

I used Apple Pay to buy the bags in minutes, and picking up the food was also easy and quick — though I did have to wait until the evening to get my doughnuts.

When I checked the app in the morning, several bags were already sold out. But Too Good To Go can send alerts when bags from your favorite stores become available. That way, you have a better chance of getting one.

The app warned that the items in my surprise bag could be nearing their best-by date, but most of the foods from The Fresh Market still had months of shelf life.

Some of the packaging, however, was flawed or damaged. And if I were browsing the aisles at the store, I probably wouldn’t have picked up any of the items in the surprise bag. But that’s how Too Good To Go works.

The Krispy Kreme doughnuts obviously weren’t at peak freshness, but they certainly weren’t stale. And when I brought the leftovers to the office the next day, my N&O colleagues didn’t voice any complaints.

Plus, they were 57 cents a piece. And that’s a pretty hard deal to beat.

Renee Umsted

The News & Observer

919-419-6579

Renee Umsted is The News & Observer’s Affordability Reporter. She writes about what it costs to live in the Triangle, with a consumer-focused approach. She has a degree in journalism from TCU.