Your weekly food shop can be expensive, and we’re always keeping an eye out for big deals at our local supermarket.
In an effort to help shoppers save, Morrisons have teamed up with the Too Good to Go app to offer cheaper groceries and reduce food waste at the same time.
If you’re not familiar with this app, Too Good to Go offers ‘magic bags’ or ‘magic boxes’ from cafes and restaurants, so they can get rid of leftover food instead of chucking it away.
And now, it’s been extended to groceries, with Morrisons being the first supermarket to trial a magic box with the popular app.
Magic boxes cost just £3.09 and if you want to get your hands on one, you simply pay via the app, and then you’re given a slot to go in-store and pick it up.
Of course, there are limitations, and there are only a few boxes available each day. It’s only available in 80 Morrisons stores at the moment, but hopefully the supermarket will decide to roll it out further.
Some happy customers have shared their magic boxes to the Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK Facebook group, to make others aware of what you can get.
Susan Dransfield shared her massive selection of groceries, writing, ‘My haul from Morrisons for £3.09 from the Too Good to Go app’.
Susan’s haul included muffins, strawberries, apples, carrots, bananas, Monster Munch, Kenco coffee, a melon, some blueberries, and a cauliflower.
Fran Mae also shared what she was able to get, writing, ‘Got my first magic bag this evening from Too Good To Go app. I’m so impressed. I thought I’d share.
'I know it has been before but I was always a little unsure what one might contain and if it was worth the trip to get it.
'Mine is from Morrisons cost me £3.59 and when I arrived it was already bagged to go the 2 Salmon fillets best before date was today but everything else is at least the 11th or later.’
In her box, she got two salmon fillets, some limes, a pint of milk, a loaf of bread, some bread rolls, mixed veg, four chocolate eclairs, a mozzarella ball, and a pot of pasta sauce.
Fran told GoodtoKnow, “We love the Too Good to Go app and have had some fabulous bargains but the main incentive other than saving money has been to try and reduce food wastage, something I think it's really important to teach my children and this has been a great way of showing them how technology and being eco-friendly and proactive can come together to help tackle one of the many issues we as a planet are facing.
“Once a magic bag or meal has been ordered we talk about what would have happened should it not have been an option for us to purchase it such as landfill and why and how the rules and laws came about which meant certain foods have to be thrown out by restaurants and supermarkets.
“The children have been utterly shocked by why these foods would previously have been thrown away and why they can't be donated to the homeless. They had the wonderful idea of seeing if an option to pay and donate a magic bag or meal could be added to the app and allow for that purchase to go to a homeless shelter or soup kitchen. Something which I have contacted the app directly about.”
This is a great way to reduce food waste, but if you want to make your groceries go further, we’ve listed the 15 most wasted foods in the country and how you can use them up.
Or if you’ve got any non-perishables that you won’t be needing, such as soups and sauces, you can donate them to a food bank.
We’ve put together a food bank guide to help you locate your nearest one, and know what to donate.
So there are plenty of options to help you reduce food waste and help others while you’re at it!
As of 2015, stats showed that we throw away 7.1 million tonnes of household food waste a year in the UK, so there’s definitely more work to be done.
What do you think of these boxes? Head over to our Facebook page to join the discussion!
