NEW YORK — Whole Foods Market’s social impact company, Too Good To Go, is launching seven new Surprise Bag category offerings. The ongoing collaboration allows app users to pick up bundles of surplus food at lower costs.
Available at more than 530 stores nationwide, the innovative solution to reducing food waste includes more categories than before, including produce, dry goods, and frozen and refrigerated foods.
The expansion builds on the success of the existing bakery and prepared foods Surprise Bags, which have helped save more than 1.6 million meals from going to waste.
“We believe every effort to reduce food waste is an opportunity to make a difference as part of our purpose to nourish people and the planet,” said Caitlin Leibert, VP of sustainability at Whole Foods Market. “Expanding our collaboration with Too Good To Go into even more departments is a simple yet powerful way to bring value to our customers and communities while helping build a more sustainable food future, one meal at a time.”
The initiative is one of many Whole Foods’ strategies to reduce food waste, guided by its three pillars: decrease, donate, divert.
“Whole Foods Market has long been at the forefront of authenticity and sustainability in grocery retail,” said Chris MacAulay, VP of operations for Too Good To Go North America. “With this expansion, they are helping keep their portfolio of high-quality food in circulation through the Too Good To Go app. It’s a powerful example of legacy leadership in action, especially as affordability and sustainability become increasingly central to how Americans shop.”
By downloading the Too Good To Go app, shoppers can reserve a Surprise Bag from a nearby Whole Foods Market store and pick it up at a designated time.
