Hay Hampers has joined international food waste app Too Good To Go, the platform which aims to reduce food waste worldwide by connecting businesses with surplus food that is still perfectly edible to customers who pre order and collect it.


In line with the UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, the government’s plans to cut food waste and following the Food Surplus and Waste Champion Ben Elliot’s urge, Hay Hampers has decided to team up with Too Good To Go as part of their plan to take ground-breaking action to drive down food waste and inspire others to follow their lead.

Gabriele Da Re, Managing Director at Hay Hampers comments:

“At Hay Hampers we are passionate about sourcing the perfect product but also ensuring none of it is wasted. We believe that big changes start small and even a family-run business such as ours can play their important role in changing people’s habits to be Food Value Champions at work and at home, buying only what is needed and eating what is bought. If everyone in the hospitality and food service industry puts as much passion into reducing waste as they do into creating delicious food, it would make a massive difference”.

Britain currently wastes 10.2 million tonnes of food every year – with 1.8 million tonnes coming from food manufacture, one million tonnes from the hospitality sector, 260,000 tonnes from the retail and the rest from regular households, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove said at the symposium ‘Step up to the Plate’ which took place in London on 13th May:

“Together, we must end the moral, economic, and environmental scandal of food waste. The UK is showing real leadership in this area, but I urge businesses to join me in signing the pledge so we can bring about real change”.

Launched in June 2016, Too Good To Go is now available in over 100 towns and cities across the UK. Working with everyone from independent retailers to contract caterers, supermarkets and hotels, Too Good To Go offers what is called 'Magic Bags', i.e. all the delicious, perfectly edible food that stores and restaurants have to throw out at the end of the day. The ‘Magic Bag’ format means that businesses don’t have to itemise what food they’re selling or putting to waste – it really is a case of selling whatever is left over.

Too Good To Go co-founder Jamie Crummie explains:

“Food waste isn’t necessarily the right term. We’re speaking about surplus food; it’s perfectly good food, but up until now we haven’t been smart enough to prevent it from going in the bin. It’s not just the food itself that goes to waste, it’s all the resources that went into making it, from water to land and labour. When wasted, food has a harmful effect on the environment - it’s responsible for 8% of the global greenhouse gas emissions, which we all know is bad news for the planet!”

Elisabeth Och, Marketing Director at Hay Hampers adds:

“Hay Hampers Magic Bags will change month on month due to the nature of our business - this month you can rescue 6 tubes of flavoured crisps, perfect for an event, movie night in or picnic on the weekend”.