I got a Too Good To Go bag for £4 from Co-op and here's what was inside

It, therefore, stands to reason that a food-filled bag for a massively discounted price is a bit of a no-brainer. 

The Too Good To Go app was set up to try and prevent food waste, which is a very noble aim, but at a time when many of us are feeling the financial pinch, it serves the second purpose of providing cheap food.

You never know what you will get in one of these bags, so I snagged one from the Welcome Co-op off Station Road and another from the Starbucks inside Taunton Railway Station to test out the app and see what was inside.

The RRP value of both was £12 but this had been knocked down to £4 in both cases, so I got £24 worth of goods for just £8. But was what was inside any good? And would it be helpful if I was responsible for providing for a struggling family?

What is Too Good To Go and how does it work?

Too Good To Go is a "social impact" app which wants to cut down on food waste.

The founders say too much food is being thrown away, which is putting a strain on the planet's resources and let's be honest, we all hate things going to waste.

Once you download the app, you can scan through it and find restaurants and cafes in your area to reserve "magic bags" from.

The Too Good To Go app aims to reduce food waste

These bags are filled with unsold and surplus food from chains and independent restaurants that would have otherwise been thrown away.

I live in Taunton and there are numerous places to pick things up from including Toby Carvery, Meis Buffet Restaurant, BP M&S Cross Keys, Harvester, Greggs and Starbucks.

These places will tell you when you can pick up a bag, you simply hit reserve, pay through the app and then go and collect it with the code you're given at the assigned time.

What do you get in a Magic Bag?

This is the big question and the short answer is, that you can never quite be sure, although your guesses will probably not be too far off.

If you're ordering from Toby Carvery, you can be reasonably confident that you'll be getting a roast, but it's a little trickier to know what you'll be given at shops with a more expansive range.

My Magic Bag from Welcome Co-op contained; a small load of bread, some breakfast muffins, two ciabattas, a chicken arrabbiata ready meal, a packet of salad, a packet of cheese sandwiches, a huge bag of baked goods including chocolate croissants and pecan bakes, two boxes of coleslaw and a chargrilled sweet potato burrito bowl.

There was tonnes in the Co-op Magic Bag

The bag from Starbucks was a much sweeter proposition, with a raspberry blondie, a chocolate chip cookie, a white chocolate and raspberry muffin and a tomato and mozzarella panini. 

What did I think?

This will come as no surprise but first and foremost the value of these bags is brilliant. These days going into Starbucks for a coffee and a cake will probably run you pretty close to £12, so to get as much as I did for £4 felt like highway robbery.

The Co-op bag was quite bread-heavy, but it is a staple food which you can freeze so even though you're getting the orange sticker stuff that's close to its sell-by date, a lot of it will keep.

The contents of the Starbucks bag

The massive bag of baked goods was a lovely surprise and there were two or three things in there to have for lunch or dinner as well.

As someone who hates wasting food, I can see myself using this app more in future. There is a sense of excitement in opening the bags and seeing what you'll get, especially when they're full to the brim.

Although if you're looking to feed your family on a budget, the unreliability of the bags' contents might not be something you want to risk, although saving this much cash on any food items may still appeal to you anyway.