These 5 Apps Could Save You Money on Food -- and Prevent Food Waste

Get discounts of up to 66% on your groceries with some of these apps.

Households across the country are looking for ways to cut grocery costs as inflation drives prices ever higher. These include switching to store-brand products, freezing on-sale items, or cutting back on meat consumption. At the same time, USDA research shows that we waste about 30% to 40% of our food supply. That comes at a huge financial and environmental cost. Indeed, according to the United Nations, if food waste were a country it would be the third largest greenhouse gas emitter.

The good news? There are all kinds of projects out there that aim to reduce waste. Many of them can also save you money on groceries. Check out these five apps to save money and help the environment:

1. Too Good To Go

The Too Good To Go app connects people to local stores and restaurants where they can buy unsold food at a significant discount. For example, a user in New York might reserve a magic bag filled with baked goods from a nearby bakery at $4.99 instead of $15 -- a two-thirds discount. Discover discounts on everything from groceries to pizza. It's a bit of a magical mystery tour though: you won't know exactly what the surprise bag will contain until you pick it up.

2. Flashfood

Use Flashfood to find food that's close to its sell-by date and snap it up at discount prices. You can get up to 50% off at local grocery stores through the app. The only downside is that it's not operational in the whole of the U.S. Flashfood originally launched in Toronto, and the majority of its partnerships are on the East Coast. Choose and pay for your items within the app, and then swing by the store to pick up your purchases.

3. Olio

The thinking behind Olio is that neighbors and local businesses can share surplus food that might otherwise go into the garbage. Install the app, fill in some basic information about yourself, and find people nearby who want to share their extra food. Perhaps you live near a prolific baker who regularly overcaters and wants to share the bounty of their kitchen -- you won't know until you install Olio. The basic functionality on the app is free, but Olio is experimenting with paid options. Right now, paying to become an Olio supporter unlocks extra views and a special profile.

4. Misfits Market

A lot of food waste happens before the food even reaches our homes. It might be that your favorite chip producer rebrands, rendering the old packets -- containing perfectly good chips -- out of date. Or perhaps the produce doesn't quite look how the grocery store wants it to. Misfits Market says almost half of the food grown in the U.S. is thrown out because it can't be sold.

Sign up with Misfits Market to save up to 40% off on your groceries and stop perfectly good food from going into landfill. You'll find many of the products you'd be able to buy in a store, including organic produce, meat, fish, coffee, herbs, spices, condiments, and more. Similar to Imperfect Foods, the app starts you off each week with certain items in your cart. You'll need to edit the order and await delivery. Misfits Market operates in 49 U.S. states.

5. Imperfect Foods

Imperfect Foods is very similar to Misfits Market -- it offers weekly grocery deliveries with a focus on waste reduction. As the name suggests, the app sells produce that's slightly imperfect or surplus to requirements. For example, you might get slightly misshapen vegetables or items that don't meet a supermarket's size or weight requirements. You'll start each week with a pre-filled cart based on your preferences, so you'll need to go in and add or remove items as needed. Imperfect Foods isn't available throughout the country. It operates in the West South Central region, Midwest, Northeast and all along the West Coast.

Bottom line

You don't have to resort to dumpster diving to pick up food that would otherwise go to a landfill. These apps can help you reduce food waste and leave you with more in your bank account. However, watch out for things like delivery fees and resist the temptation to buy things just because they're reduced. If you shave $20 off your weekly bill, but spend $5 on delivery and another $10 on items you wouldn't normally have bought, you've only actually saved $5.

There's no single route to cut your food spending, but these apps may be part of the solution. Combine them with cash-back apps or credit card rewards on your normal grocery shopping and you may be well on the road to beating inflation.