Canada's Capital Joins the Global Movement to Eliminate Food Waste

Too Good To Go Launches in Ottawa-Gatineau

OTTAWA, ON, June 9, 2022 /CNW/ - Too Good To Go is live in Canada's capital. As of today, the world's #1 marketplace for selling surplus food will be available for businesses and consumers in the Ottawa-Gatineau region.

More than 90 businesses, including local favourites such as Maverick's Donuts, Petites Gamines, The Cupcake Lounge, NU Grocery, and Quelque Chose Pâtisserie already signed on to the app. In their quest to eliminate food waste and save money, consumers in Ottawa-Gatineau can now pick up Surprise Bags from bakeries, restaurants, grocery stores, local coffee shops and everything in between. Too Good To Go is calling on all local businesses to start making money off of their surplus food by joining the app and getting connected to hundreds of thousands of customers today!

The app, which is free to download, connects consumers with businesses who have surplus food. Businesses simply upload the amount of surplus food that they have at designated periods throughout the day and consumers purchase a Surprise Bag of those items for ⅓ the retail cost. The goal is to help businesses eliminate waste that would otherwise occur from throwing out unsold food and earn incremental revenue from that surplus. The app also gives customers a way to eat great food at a fraction of the cost, while helping the planet by not contributing more waste from CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. This solution is a true win-win-win scenario for food businesses, food lovers and the environment.

Food waste accounts for 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions, globally. According to 2022 data by the National Zero Waste Council, a whopping 2.3 million tonnes of edible food is wasted each year, costing Canadians more than $20 billion annually. The average Canadian household wastes 4.5 meals per week, or the equivalent of $1800 per year in food that is thrown away.

For context, 35.5 million tons of food go to waste every year in Canada, this equates to the weight of 657,000 Peace Tower Carillons. Eliminating food waste at every level is the fastest way to fight climate change and will have a real, measurable impact on reducing costs for Canadian families. Food costs have increased 6% in the past year. As costs continue to increase many are looking for creative ways to stretch their budgets on necessities. Eliminating surplus food waste at home, when grocery shopping and dining out can help Canadians save on necessities.

For food businesses with tight margins, eliminating waste is equally important. Said Sam Kashani, Too Good to Go Country Manager, "we're really proud of the impact we've delivered for our partners throughout Canada to help them reduce waste, appeal to new customers and generate more revenue. As we expand to Ottawa we couldn't be more excited to welcome more local business owners to the app and encourage everyone to download the app and sign up!"

Too Good To Go launched in Canada in July 2021. In less than a year the company has expanded to seven cities, including Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Québec City, Calgary and Edmonton. Across the country Too Good To Go has partnered with more than 3,000 businesses and saved nearly half a million meals from going to waste.

The Too Good To Go app is available for iOS download in the Apple App Store and Google Play for Android.

About Too Good To Go

Too Good To Go, a certified B Corp, is a social impact company leading the food waste revolution to create a greener planet. The app connects consumers to surplus food from local restaurants and grocery stores, such as pastries, fresh produce, sushi and more, which would otherwise be thrown away to make room for the next batch of goods. Each meal rescued equates to the CO2e emission of charging one smartphone fully 422 times. Founded in 2016, Too Good To Go has saved more than 140 million meals from more than 155,000 partners in 17 countries. Beyond the app, Too Good To Go has launched initiatives to change date labelling on food, produced free educational resources for schools, and inspired households to change food waste behaviours. Visit toogoodtogo.ca for more information and follow at instagram.com/toogoodtogo.can.

SOURCE Too Good To Go

Sarah Soteroff, PR Manager, Canada, 416.838.0077, [email protected]