PRESS RELEASESTOO GOOD TO GO AND THE GREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY PARTNER

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (August 16, 2021) - Too Good To Go, the tech-for-good company and certified B-Corp powering the world’s #1 anti-food waste app, today announces its partnership with Greater Chicago Food Depository, the food bank serving Chicago and all of Cook County. This will allow Too Good To Go users to make monetary donations to the Food Depository directly through the app, which will support the nonprofit in providing food and hope to hundreds of thousands of individuals and families across Chicago and Cook County.

The partnership brings together the efforts of two like-minded food rescue players to create a more nourished, sustainable world. Through this new app feature, Chicagoans can take action against food insecurity and climate change as easily as: 1) Reserving a Surprise Bag pick-up (saving one meal is equivalent to the CO2e of fully charging a smartphone 422 times) and 2) Clicking “Donate” on the app’s homepage to support the Food Depository (donating $1 provides enough food for three meals). This is an easy, tangible way for Chicagoans to make a difference in reducing food waste and ensuring that surplus food can be repurposed for those facing food insecurity.

“We’re grateful for this unique and creative partnership with Too Good to Go,” said Jill Rahman, Chief Operating Officer at the Greater Chicago Food Depository. “Working together, we can help feed our neighbors facing hunger and reduce food waste at the same time.”

Too Good To Go works hand-in-hand with hunger-relief organizations in each city where the app is active, as everyone has a part to play in the food rescue ecosystem. The majority of Too Good To Go’s Surprise Bags contain fresh, prepared and perishable foods—like a few slices of pizza, an extra sushi roll, a few dumplings, a mix of pastries, a cup of soup, or a pint of ice cream—which would otherwise be discarded at the end of that day. These small, consumer-sized volumes of food often can’t effectively be redistributed to food banks or homeless shelters, and the app fills this gap in food loss. Too Good To Go’s strategy of working with a high density of stores in urban areas makes it easy for consumers to pick up this surplus.

“The work we do is very complementary in the food rescue ecosystem,” said Lucie Basch, Co-founder of Too Good To Go. “We are honored to partner with a non-profit with over 40 years of experience serving this community, and we look forward to working together to provide nourishing food and lasting solutions to hunger across Chicago and Cook County.”

Since the app went live last month, Chicago has already saved over 6,000 meals with Too Good To Go, which is equivalent to the carbon footprint of 52 flights between Chicago and New York City. Through their efforts, both Too Good To Go and the Food Depository play a crucial, complementary role in the city’s food rescue ecosystem, driving change on different levels of scale. Too Good To Go connects app users with delicious surplus food from cafes, restaurants and grocery stores, while the Food Depository works to provide food where it’s most needed, while also addressing the root causes of hunger and the specific needs of diverse groups.

In addition to giving monetary donations through the Too Good To Go app, Chicagoans can also support the Food Depository through its volunteer program.

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ABOUT TOO GOOD TO GO

Too Good To Go is the certified B-Corp and tech-for-good company powering the world’s #1 app for fighting food waste to create a greener planet. The app connects consumers to surplus food that would otherwise be thrown away from local restaurants and grocery stores, such as pastries, fresh produce, sushi and more. Each meal rescued is equivalent to the carbon footprint from charging one smartphone fully 422 times. Founded in 2016, Too Good To Go has saved over 87 million meals across 16 countries, which adds up to 348 million pounds of food. Beyond the app, Too Good To Go has launched initiatives to change date labeling on food, produced free educational resources for schools and inspired households to change food waste behaviors. Visit https://toogoodtogo.com/en-us for more information and follow Too Good To Go on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

ABOUT THE GREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY

The Greater Chicago Food Depository, Chicago’s food bank, believes a healthy community starts with food. The Food Depository is at the center of a network of more than 700 partner organizations and programs – food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, mobile distributions and other partners – working to bring food, dignity and hope to our neighbors across Chicago and Cook County. The Food Depository addresses the root causes of hunger with job training, advocacy and other innovative solutions. The Food Depository is a proud member of Feeding America – the national network of food banks. By working to help those most in need go from hungry to hopeful, the Food Depository is building a Greater Chicago. Learn more at chicagosfoodbank.org.