New phone app helps DC residents avoid food waste

By AFRO Staff

District Taco, the popular Washington, D.C. Mexican-style restaurant chain, has decided to take on food waste and poverty.

Using a phone app created by Too Good To Go, a tech-for-good company, the restaurant will offer “surprise bags” that can be purchased on the platform and available for pickup 30 minutes before the close of business at participating locations. 

“We support our city’s Zero Waste Goal of 80-percent waste diversion by 2032 and are doing our best to help our community achieve it,” said District Taco Chief Operating Officer, Chris Medhurst, in a statement. “We plan to roll this out to all District Taco locations by the end of the month to do our part to give back to our community.”

The Too Good To Go app allows restaurants and hotels a space to offer their daily surplus of food at significantly discounted prices. Using this method, Too Good to Go has distributed roughly 129 million meals around the globe from different places, to include bakeries and supermarkets. 

District Taco used Earth Day, which fell on April 22, to announce the partnership with Too Good To Go. Customers are now able to purchase a surprise bag that costs $3.99 and contains items valued at about $12.

Customers who use the Apple Store on iOS devices and Google Play on Android phones can browse participating locations, and reserve and pay for a Surprise Bag on the app. The bags are made up of varying contents and can change day to day. Customers pick up their bags at a designated time. 

“We are so excited to be partnering with District Taco in expanding our food waste solution throughout the DMV,” stated Tyler Simmons, U.S. Head of Key Accounts, in an announcement of the partnership from District Taco. “We are also proud to be helping District Taco meet its zero-waste goal, food was meant to be eaten, and we are looking forward to seeing the local community save and enjoy this delicious surplus.”

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