We Wish Aldi UK's 'Too Good To Go' Program Was In The US

In the United States alone, almost 40% of all food goes to waste every year. The statistics for food waste around the globe aren't any better. While many establishments have practices in place to help reduce this number, from offering discounts on products close to their expiration to donating leftover food to charities, some businesses have made longer strides in this fight against food waste than others.

The popular grocery chain Aldi is one such business. Aldi has a few programs to help combat high levels of refuse, one of which involves a partnership with the mobile app Too Good To Go. Aldi pairs up with this brand to sell its unsold food to customers at much lower prices so the food doesn't go to waste. 

While this action is a start to lowering such a high percentage of waste, it's only available in the U.K. for now, so shoppers in the United States can't take advantage of it (unless they want to buy a plane ticket). For those reading from the U.K., here's how good this deal really is and how you can take advantage of it.

Entrepreneurs made the Too Good To Go app so restaurants could sell their excess food at low prices to avoid it getting tossed. This same objective applies to grocery stores like Aldi that pair with the app. Customers interested in a cheap bag of groceries can opt to purchase a mystery bag full of food from Aldi for a low price. Whether it's produce, dairy, meat, or snacks, anything sold at the chain is on the table. The food is still good to eat; it's just yet to be sold and is nearing its expiration date.

For those who want to participate in this program, you can get a mystery bag full of Aldi food items through the Too Good to Go app. On the app, select an Aldi location near you, schedule a pickup time, and pay. The random food bundle will be worth over $12 but sold for just $3.99.

Now, don't feel obligated to grab a bag if you're not excited by the idea of mystery food. Aldi has other food-saving measurements beyond its partnership with Too Good To Go, and many of these efforts are not limited to stores in the United Kingdom.

While Aldi's partnership with Too Good To Go is only available in one country for now, this single effort by Aldi alone is expected to save almost 4,000 tons of food from landfill. Furthering its quest, Aldi's U.K. stores donate additional food items to local food banks and similar causes instead of throwing them away. For shoppers from the United States who are jealous of all these food waste prevention efforts, select stores here have a similar deal with causes like Feeding America. So, while Americans might not yet have affordable mystery bags to choose from, not all of our food is going to waste.

Partnerships aside, Aldi has other food-saving methods in place it employs right under your nose. Even the unique way Aldi sells its packaged produce saves fruit and vegetables from landfills, as do the low prices slapped onto bakery goods that are expiring. Aldi certainly isn't the only chain stepping up to the plate to fight food waste, but hopefully, its many efforts inspire similar chains to make changes in the years to come.