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Pros
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Shop for groceries at a discount while you shop for other groceries
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Rescue food that should be thrown away
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Huge discount items available in all grocery categories
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Direct app and shopping process
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Seamless pickup
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No packaging waste
Cons
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Only available at select retailers
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Some stores have some items available
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May include damaged items
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There is no shipping option
If you are worried about the increase grocery pricesit’s not just you. A recent CNET survey found that 93% of Americans are concerned about inflation in groceries causing most sticker shock at stores.
To save on your weekly food spending, you can switch to store brand groceries (I doing the math to see how much you can save) or try shopping at a wholesale outlet like Costco (we did the math for moving to Costco within a yeartoo.) But there is another good option: Flash fooda mobile app that allows you to buy groceries nearby expiration dates or damaged packaging directly from local retailers at half price.
I tried Flashfood recently and saved almost 50% on hauling Stop & Shop groceries. As someone who loves to cook at home and a good deal, Flashfood ticks a lot of boxes for me.
Read more: Here’s What An Expert Told Me About Food Expiration Dates
Here’s everything you need to know about Flashfood, including how to use the grocery discount app.
Snapshot of Flashfood
- SERVICES: App for rescuing expiring food from local grocery retailers. Account registration is required, but there is no subscription fee.
- Colleagues: Flashfood retailers nationwide include Dash Mart, Piggly Wiggly, Meijier, Stop and Shop, Food Lion and others.
- The availability of the region: Continental US and Canada.
- cost: There is no participation fee. Available products are discounted by 50%. A small service charge of 5%, up to a maximum charge of $2.99, will be added to each order.
Flashfood is an app that allows you to buy groceries at a discount that might otherwise be thrown away due to packaging damage or nearing expiration dates.
What is Flashfood?
An app for buying groceries at a discount that would otherwise be destined for waste, Flashfood was founded in 2016 by Josh Domingue to prevent the large amount of waste generated by food retail businesses, one of the biggest contributors to the problem. . According to data from Track Recycling SystemsUS grocery retail locations account for 16 billion pounds of food waste each year.
Flashfood partners with select grocery stores to allow them to sell food that is close to its expiration date or highly perishable items at a deep discount to consumers.
How does Flashfood work?
Flashfood does not require a subscription, but consumers must download the app and create an account. A simple map feature shows you which stores in your area are participating in Flashfood, and you can view available inventory.
The app displays items with both original and discounted prices.
The original price of each item is displayed in the app, as well as the 50% discount price, and its expiration date is also displayed. Each item is listed individually for inventory purposes, so you may see multiple listings for the same item.
Flashfood shoppers can simply add items to their cart, and then pay for the items in the app. Your order must be picked up at the store, preferably on the same day you purchase it, but at the latest before the expiration date of the items you have selected. Flashfood collects a 5% service fee per order, up to $3, for its operating costs.
Flashfood cupboards and refrigerators are located near the checkout. A manager helped me find my purchases.
Rescue deeply discounted food while you shop
The best part about Flashfood is that you can check what’s on the app while you’re shopping in the store, making it a one-stop shopping experience. If you’re already traveling, you may find that many of the items on your list are available in the shop’s Flashfood inventory. This is a departure from many other food salvage platforms that may offer a large selection of salvaged items on their website for national delivery but this does not represent every grocery store aisle. This is not a one-stop shop situation. It is possible that Flashfood.
Here’s what $60 groceries look like for $30.
There has been a lot of talk about the rising cost of groceries, and so a 50% discount offered by Flashfood is something to consider. I got quite a haul for about $30: four different proteins, generously portioned, close to their expiration date but ready to go in the freezer, including salmon, chicken wingettes, pork chops and Italian sausage.
Make bags are listed, labeled and allocated for pickup.
A couple of items in the pantry have box damage – the kind you might pass over when they’re sitting on the shelves, but when offered at a 50% discount, getting them is a no-brainer. (My 1990s Midwestern sense of believing that all cereal should cost no more than $3 was satisfied.)
A bag full of fruit has a slight color change, but that’s about it, and several pounds of apples, pears, oranges and clementines are offered as an assorted produce bag for $5. This isn’t a guessing game or mystery bag situation — the photo in the app shows exactly what I got.
The Stop and Store where I purchased my order had whole bakery cake halves. I can’t justify it for my one-man household, but man am I tempted.
A small damage to the box is worth 50% discount.
Pickup rescues items stored before their expiration dates
The process of getting my Flashfood order was simple — well-marked Flashfood cabinets and refrigerators were located near the checkout, and a manager checked my order and handed me the specific items I purchased. By carrying my own grocery bag, this is another element of waste that is eliminated in the process, and I pick up my order within an hour of purchasing it. Some retailers may package your order ahead of time, but since Flashfood inventory is not limited to any given retailer, it’s a quick process to find each of my items when I arrive. .
Flashfood recommends picking up your order the same day you purchase it, but as long as you pick it up before the expiration date of your chosen items, it doesn’t have to be immediate.
You can see the expiration date before you commit.
Who is good at Flashfood?
If you regularly shop at one of the major Flashfood partner retailers, such as Piggly Wiggly, Meijier or Stop and Shop, for example, then this is a no-lose situation. Since there is no membership or commitment involved, you can simply download the app and see what’s available in your store. You may find yourself leaving with more money than you’re used to.
Flashfood helps you track your savings.
Who doesn’t like Flashfood?
Flashfood has about 2,000 retail locations in the US and Canada. That being said, if one of them isn’t near you, then Flashfood still won’t help you. (The app is currently developing a way for consumers to request Flashfood in their specific markets, though.) There is currently no delivery mechanism for Flashfood, so you will have to pick it up in store. If you rely heavily on delivery services like Instacart or DoorDash, or even businesses like Misfits Market or Thrive Market that ship nationally, then Flashfood may not be a viable solution.
Final verdict on Flashfood
Flash food is the most useful solution I’ve seen yet for finding cheap groceries while saving food that might otherwise end up in the trash. I really encourage anyone to download the simple app and see what’s nearby. I drove 40 minutes to get to a Flashfood partner grocery store but after this, I would do it again.
