On the occasion of International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, it is right to thank our planet for one of the many things in particular that it offers us; food. So let's start doing it with a simple step and avoid wasting it. According to Business Waste, the UK throws away around 9.5 million tonnes of unwanted food in a single year, and 70% of it was intended for human consumption. That's why we at V-Land are here to introduce three apps that will help you reduce food waste and your shopping bill.

Too Good To Go

Too Good To Go is an app that allows you to buy food that would otherwise be thrown away from restaurants, coffee shops and supermarkets at a discounted price. Users, whose membership is free, can check what's near them on the map, and pick up one of Too Good To Go's 'magic bags'. What’s in the bag is often a surprise, but don’t worry because when browsing for food it is possible to specify your dietary requirements.

In addition to providing an app, Too Good To Go is an organisation that fights food waste on various fronts. They run a campaign that teaches us how to ‘look, smell, taste, don’t waste’ food before tossing it out, and they have worked with over five hundred schools and universities through events, lectures and research to improve everyone's education around how to reduce food waste.

Olio

Olio is a platform that connects neighbours who want to share unwanted food and more. Simply sign up to the free app to start listing food and other types of goods. You can also pick up what would otherwise be thrown away elsewhere for free too. 

Olio also offers plenty of different volunteering opportunities that are simple and easy to sign up for, like spreading the word about Olio or picking up surplus food from a local business.

Karma

On the Karma app, restaurants, cafés, bakeries and even wholesalers list leftover food that would be wasted. The concept is very similar to that of Too Good To Go, except with Karma you can choose your meal instead of getting a surprise one.

So far, Karma has rescued over 4 million meals and saved 1,800 tonnes of CO2. They have 1.4 million app users in 225 cities worldwide. What are you waiting for? It is never too late to join millions of other people who care about the health of our planet. 

And seeing as it’s the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, that makes today a great day to start. Love an eco-friendly app? Check out 10 apps changing the world to discover other applications that contribute to a better planet.