A YouTuber who attempted to live for a full week on discounted leftover food from major high street chains has shared his surprising results. Content creator Ed Chapman documented his challenge of surviving solely on "surprise bags" purchased through the anti-food waste app, Too Good To Go.
The Challenge: A Week of Surprise Bags
Ed Chapman set himself a simple but daunting task: to see if he could live off the contents of Too Good To Go bags for seven days. The app, launched in 2016, connects users with shops and restaurants offering unsold food at the end of the day for a heavily reduced price, all in a bid to combat food waste. Ed vowed to continue until he either ran out of local participating stores or had to admit defeat due to nutritional concerns.
His experiment, conducted in and around Leeds, kicked off with a bag from bakery giant Greggs, costing just £2.99. The sheer volume of food inside immediately shocked him. "I was not expecting as much as this," he remarked, concerned he would actually contribute to waste himself. The haul included two sausage and cheese melts, two cheese and onion bakes, and four sausage rolls. While he admitted the food was tasty, he found the lack of variety and breakfast options limiting.
Mixed Results from Pret and Costa
Next, Ed picked up a £4 mystery bag from Pret a Manger, which he estimated contained around £12 worth of items. Inside, he found soup, an avocado and tomato sandwich, and a tuna mayonnaise baguette. Although he found this bag slightly underwhelming compared to the Greggs mountain of pastries, he noted it offered better variety and would be a solid lunch option for office workers.
The experience at Costa Coffee proved more contentious. For £3.50—for a bag advertised with a £11 value—he received two red velvet cakes, a mature red cheddar and ham toastie, and a Heinz beans and cheese toastie. Ed was left questioning the stated value, calling the bag "a bit disappointing" and noting a lack of exciting variety, despite the cakes looking appealing.
Final Verdict on the Food Waste Experiment
Over four days, Ed also sampled pizza from Pollini's Pizza in Leeds and a breakfast selection from a Holiday Inn before concluding his challenge at coffee chain Leon. There, a £6.29 bag yielded two sausage sandwiches and a porridge pot.
Reflecting on the week, Ed concluded that while the Too Good To Go app is a brilliant concept for reducing waste and saving money, the experience can be hit or miss. "This is alright as a thing to do every now and again," he said, "certain places are better than others, as we've seen, but sometimes you need proper hot food." His experiment highlighted significant disparities in the perceived value and contents of the "surprise bags" from different popular chains.
