A box of bananas, English muffins and a loaf of bread; what would normally cost $12.75 at Zehrs, Linda Ryan was able to buy for $4.28 after taxes using the food saving app, Flashfood.
Going into the grocery store, most shoppers have noticed the rise in prices for food and other essential products. Now families like Ryan’s are turning to discounted goods and food saving apps to help save money.
The Cambridge mother of three is always on the hunt for the best sales to make sure her money is well spent.
“I’ve been using the app for a while now,” said Ryan. “You can find so much here and it’s always 50 per cent or more off the regular price.”
Flashfood has been in every Cambridge location of Zehrs since 2019. It is an app that you can download on your phone and use to buy discounted food and pick up in-store. This eliminated any competition for discounted food and reserves your product at the store for you to pick up at your earliest convenience.
Ryan thinks apps like these can make all the difference when it comes to budgeting, especially in a time of high living costs and inflation.
“It’s getting really hard out here for families, especially big families,” Ryan said. “We’ve had to use the food bank for the first time this year and it was tough to accept that you need help.”
With the use of the Cambridge Food Bank and apps like Flashfood, Ryan said she has easily saved hundreds of dollars. Her family has been able to use the money they saved on food to buy things like clothes for her children and keep up with monthly bill payments.
“If it wasn’t for apps like these, I honestly don’t know what we would do,” she added.
In addition to saving families money, Loblaws says it's made it their mission to become a company with zero food waste.
Dave Trenholm is the manager at the Zehrs at 200 Franklin Blvd. and thinks they are on their way to achieving zero waste.
“We donate so much food to community organizations and with partnerships like Flashfood, it's easy to see how we can get to that goal,” he said.
Multiple Loblaws franchises, including the Trenholm’s Zehrs, all partner with the Cambridge Food Bank to donate hundreds of pounds of food each year. They are making multiple deliveries to the food bank each day, added Trenholm.
According to a Nov. 2022 press release from Loblaws, they have diverted over 40 million pounds of food from landfill and helped Canadians save more than $110 million on groceries. Over the last two years, Flashfood has seen the user-ship on the app skyrocket to 1.6 million subscribers.
"As a purpose-led organization, Loblaw is firmly committed to helping Canadians live life well. By partnering with Flashfood, we are reducing our impact on the environment while also helping our customers save money," said Robert Sawyer, chief operating officer, Loblaw Companies Limited.
The 40 million pounds of food diverted equates to 76 million pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) saved from reaching the atmosphere, or the equivalent of 7,428 gas powered passenger vehicles being taken off the road for an entire year, read the report.
Other apps like Too Good To Go, Feedback and Olio are other food rescue alternatives that help shoppers find the best deals. They all have the same goal in mind, to save money and save the environment.
Families can save anywhere from 50 per cent to 90 pre cent off food products that are well before their best before date, said Trenholm.
Ryan thinks there is still a stigma around using services like the food bank or apps like Flashfood. She would like to see everyone reach out if they need help and not to be afraid of a little assistance.
“There’s no shame in getting help. I’ve witnessed people go without meals, because they were afraid of visiting the food bank,” said Ryan. “I urge anyone who needs to save money to try alternatives and see how it impacts your life, but it can only work if you try.”
