Flashfood: Your Grocery Savings App?

Saving Money and Reducing Waste with Flashfood

Flashfood is a mobile application designed to connect consumers with significantly discounted groceries that are nearing their “best before” dates. This offers a win-win scenario: shoppers save money, and grocery stores reduce food waste. The app boasts potential savings of up to 50% on items like meat, dairy, seafood, fresh fruits, and vegetables.

How to Access Flashfood Deals

The Flashfood app is available for both Apple and Android devices. After downloading the app, users can browse participating grocery stores in their vicinity. A search of a local supermarket revealed a variety of discounted items, particularly in the dairy section. Examples included organic milk marked down from $5.49 to $2.74, and a six-pack of yogurt reduced from $5.99 to $2.99, with a “best before” date still several weeks away. Fresh produce, such as apples, oranges, and bagged salads, was also available. On a single day, over 50 items were available for purchase through the app at one location.

Where is Flashfood Available?

Flashfood has partnered with over 1,500 grocery stores and retailers across the United States and Canada. The company originated in Canada, and its largest concentration of participating stores in the U.S. is currently in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions.

Retail Partners in the United States

Knowing which retailers participate with Flashfood makes it easier to determine if the service is available near you. Here are some of the U.S. stores that currently partner with Flashfood:

• Family Fare
• Giant Eagle
• Martin’s Markets
• Meijer
• Save a Lot
• Spartan Nash
• Stop and Shop
• Tops Friendly Markets
• VG’s Grocery

In addition to these larger chains, some smaller, independent stores, such as delicatessens, also participate.

How the Flashfood App Works

Shopping for deals through Flashfood is exclusively done within the app; there isn’t a website option. Users select the items they wish to purchase, complete the checkout process, and pay directly through the app. After payment, customers must travel to the physical store to pick up their order from a designated “Flashfood zone.”

It’s important to note that Flashfood operates independently from the grocery store’s own shopping app. Therefore, if you typically order groceries online for curbside pickup or delivery, using Flashfood will require a separate trip inside the store.

Referral Program

Flashfood offers a referral program to further enhance savings. Users can share their unique referral code with friends. When a friend makes a purchase of $10 or more using the referral code, they receive $5 off their order. Once the friend’s purchase is complete, the original referrer receives a $5 promo code for their next order. These promo codes can be found in the “Rewards” section of the app.

Environmental and Social Benefits

Flashfood contributes to reducing food waste by diverting edible food from landfills. One supermarket chain estimates that it has diverted over one million pounds of food from landfills since partnering with Flashfood in 2021. Overall, Flashfood claims its program has diverted more than 50 million pounds of food from landfills. Furthermore, in areas where food insecurity is a concern, Flashfood provides a means for families to access groceries at a reduced cost.

Too Good to Go: Another Option for Surplus Food

Another app with a similar mission is Too Good to Go, which also focuses on connecting consumers with surplus food. However, unlike Flashfood, Too Good to Go doesn’t primarily focus on supermarkets, although some Whole Foods Market locations do participate.

With Too Good to Go, users purchase “surprise bags” for a set price. These bags contain a mixed assortment of items within a specific category. For example, a bakery bag from a Whole Foods Market might contain a selection of breads, muffins, and other baked goods. The exact contents and quantity are not guaranteed, but it offers an opportunity to purchase bakery items at a discount.

While bakeries and similar establishments are common participants, other types of businesses also offer surprise bags. These can include seafood markets with leftover fresh catches or Indian restaurants with surplus buffet items. Convenience stores may also offer “Treats & Eats” bags that include sandwiches, wraps, salads, snacks, pastries, or fresh produce.

Addressing Food Insecurity

With potential reductions in SNAP benefits on the horizon, resources like Flashfood and Too Good to Go can provide valuable support for families seeking to supplement their food budgets. By offering access to discounted groceries and surplus food, these apps can help families make the most of their resources and ensure they have access to nutritious meals.