Tim Hortons joins app that reduces restaurant food waste, saves money

globalnews.ca:

An iconic Canadian fast-food restaurant is signing on to Too Good To Go, an app that sells surplus food at a discount in an effort to reduce waste.

As part of a national launch Wednesday, more than 200 Tim Hortons locations were added to the app’s list of partners.

“Our first fully national rollout is with Tim Hortons,” said Sarah Soteroff, Too Good To Go spokesperson. “We’re launching first in Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg.

“That’s really exciting because we love those markets (and it’s) amazing to give them something new and fun. And obviously Tim Hortons is one of the most well-known Canadian brands. It’s known the world over.

“It’s so closely tied to the food that we eat here and sort of our national identity.”

The app was created in Copenhagen in 2016. It launched in Canada in July 2021 and now has about 7,000 partners nationally. To date, more than 2.5 million meals have been saved.

“We connect, via the app, businesses with food — so anything from grocery stores, convenience stores, high-end restaurants — directly to consumers to purchase that food at a discounted cost, which helps the stores recoup some of the revenue they would otherwise lose by throwing out that food, and helps consumers get great food at a lower cost,” Soteroff said.

“Everyone then does their part to help reduce the harmful impacts of food waste on the environment.”

Since coming to Alberta in spring 2022, 612 food partners have signed up and about 100,000 users have registered.

“That has equated to about $1.9 million in savings thus far for consumers and $667,000 worth of earnings for partners,” Soteroff said.

Adding hundreds of Tim Hortons locations will be a huge boost to the app and its users.

“We’re also launching some new 7-11 locations