It’s no secret that supermarkets end up throwing a lot of food away. But did you know that “In the United States, food waste is estimated at between 30-40 percent of the food supply?”
If you think about the amount of food that is wasted, and then you consider that there are thousands upon thousands of families that struggle to put food on the table, there must be ways to curb this problem.
Enter Flashfood, a Toronto based mobile app that currently operates in more than 450 grocery locations. The way that this app works is pretty brilliant. Customers are able to browse food that food that is nearing its “marked” due date. The food found on the app is discounted up to 50% off, which helps families to afford food, while curbing needless waste.
To date, Flashfood has diverted over five million pounds of food, saved shoppers over $10 million and more affordably fed hundreds of thousands of families.
In Western NY, Tops Friendly Markets has partnered with Flashfood at six locations. Starting this month, shoppers can download the free app, select their discounted items such as produce, meat, deli, bakery, and dairy, and then arrange for pick up at a designated Flashfood location within Tops.
“At Tops (headquartered in WNY), social responsibility and sustainability have always been at the core of our mission, upholding standards that ensure we reduce environmental waste and energy consumption while providing customers with sustainably sourced, high-quality products, at a great value,” said Jeff Culhane, senior vice president of sales and merchandising for Tops. “The Flashfood program fits right into our business model and we’re excited to bring this unique, money saving opportunity to our customers.”
“Adding Tops to our portfolio of innovative grocer partners is a huge step as Flashfood continues to scale across America. The effort and willingness to provide shoppers with a great digital experience has been really evident working with Tops,” said founder and CEO, Josh Domingues. “Reducing food waste while affordably feeding shoppers is at the core of our mission and we intend to drive great results through this initial pilot.”
“We are always working on ways to leverage technology to create a better shopping experience for our customers,” said Ed Rick, director, consumer marketing & digital for Tops. “Partnering with Flashfood is a win for our shoppers and a win for the environment.”
The program is being piloted at the following six Tops Markets locations:
- 355 Orchard Park Rd., West Seneca, NY
- 3980 Maple Rd., Amherst, NY
- 3865 Union Rd., Cheektowaga, NY
- 9660 Transit Rd., Amherst, NY
- 2101 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, NY
- 12775 Broadway, Alden, NY
Flashfood is a free app available on iOS and Android. For more information on the app, visit www.flashfood.com.