You Can Get Cheap Eats Using These Three Anti-Food-Waste Apps

Too Good To Go

This Copenhagen-founded company partners with grocery stores and restaurants in 17 countries, including Canada. The Too Good To Go app connects you to local spots that have extra food on sale, whether they're leftover ingredients or surplus meals.

In the app, you're able to see which restaurants and grocery stores near you are offering "Surprise Bags," Too Good To Go's branding for "tasty leftovers." It's of course very difficult to predict what will be left at the end of the day, so each Surprise Bag really is a surprise.

You can pick which places you'd like to get Surprise Bags from, and even put in your food preferences so Too Good To Go can make better recommendations for which bags to wait for.

In Montreal, you can get cheap food from places like SpiceBros, La Fabrique de Bagel and even Chatime, as well as local grocery stores, of course.

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FoodHero

FoodHero is a Canadian company partnered with IGAs and Metros across Montreal (and elsewhere, but let's face it, you're here to read about Montreal) to sell food they term "surplus." Surplus food is anything nearing its sell-by date, which usually includes food that will still be good for weeks — it's just not sellable anymore.

On the app, you can browse discounts from your local IGAs and Metros, with the stock updating periodically throughout the day. You can search for different categories of food, and put together a cheap basket which you can then pick up from the store.

If you can't find all the ingredients you need in your closest stores, you can browse throughout the city to find the best deals for your budget.

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Flashfood

Flashfood was founded in Toronto and has since expanded internationally. Like FoodHero, this service partners with grocery stores to show customers discounted foods approaching their sell-by date.

In the Flashfood app, you can browse participating grocery stores near you, which in Montreal mostly consists of Maxis and Provigos. The app allows you to see what foods are up for offer now, which you can add to your cart and pay for in the app.

Once you've placed you order, you can go to the store and pick up your discounted ingredients. The average discount across Flashfood is 50% off of market price, not an insignificant decrease especially for meats and other typically pricey products.

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