One thing almost every NYU student has in common is spending too much money on takeout. It’s midterms season, and there’s barely enough time to finish that essay during an all-nighter, let alone to try and cook something. While ordering takeout is convenient, it can also be expensive. The Too Good To Go app might just be the solution.
Instead of spending $20 on that weekly Chipotle, Too Good To Go arranges a bag of surprise leftovers in an effort to prevent food waste. From as low as $3.99 to $7.99, students can grab a bag of baked goods to a filling dinner in a variety of restaurant locations around the city.
“I love it,” LS sophomore John Livanos said. “I pick it up from my three favorite places and put together a little spread for my friends.”
Sarah Soteroff, Too Good To Go’s senior public relations manager for Canada and the United States said the company sees great success in New York City — a success that NYU students should be taking advantage of, as food prices are known to be costly. In an interview with WSN, Soteroff noted how she and many others related to this struggle.
“I’d say when I was in college I was always on the hunt for a deal, so having a way to get access to cheap food is really great,” Soteroff said.
The app allows the user to enter dietary restrictions and food preferences. While the surprise bags are cheap, they’re a surprise — you can’t guarantee that you’ll like what you get. It could be a fun way to try many on-campus restaurants — Maman, Bagel Bob’s and Unregular Pizza are some of the many on Too Good To Go.
Steinhardt junior Zoe Tevyaw praised the app’s encouragement of students to explore the vast array of foods the city has to offer at a reasonable price.
“It makes it way more accessible to experience the food of New York,” Tevyaw said. “It’s a good low-stakes way to try new flavors since it’s not some huge investment like a lot of food services tend to be here.”
It’s important to note that you can’t just pick up your surprise bag whenever you’d like — there’s an allotted time slot, which makes it less convenient than a regular takeout app. Since Too Good To Go relies on leftover food, there’s always a chance that the restaurant sells out of everything before your pickup time. So while that $3.99 deal may seem like the perfect dinner, there is always the possibility of a canceled order.
Too Good To Go is dedicated to the ambition of teaching the next generation how to fight food waste. A shocking 40% of all food produced is wasted year after year, contributing 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions. The app allows for students to take part in making a greater change.
“Our goal is to help businesses make money and to help consumers get lower cost food, but at the end of the day, those are the things that are also reducing the impact of food waste,” Soteroff said.
Contact Logan O’Connor at [email protected]
