Specialty shop partners with food-waste app to make sustainable food more affordable
With food prices soaring, an eco-friendly grocery store in Taylor has found a way to make its specialty goods more affordable for the local community.
In June, Hayley’s Grains, which specializes in local, organic and plastic-free bulk shopping, signed up with the anti-food-waste app Too Good to Go, which allows local businesses to sell their surplus food to users— often at a 75% discount.
“Our surprise bags really range,” said Hayley Blundell, the owner of the 3-year-old shop at Second and Main streets. “It’s based on anything that’s coming up to a sell-by date, so I have put in anything from bread to produce to dairy products to taco seasonings.”
The app was launched in Copenhagen in 2016 to help the environment by pairing bargain-hungry customers with food shops looking to unload food near its sell-by date.
Since that time, it has grown to more than 95 million registered users and 160,000 participating businesses across 18 countries in Europe and in North America, according to the company website.
Area participants in TGTG have scored everything from locally sourced duck pate to chèvre paired with artichoke and jalapeño.
“It’s greatly discounted because I think they pay six dollars for a bag that is valued at $18,” Blundell said.
“And I usually add in a few extra things just to ensure that it is nice and wellrounded.”
In a local Facebook group devoted to the app, one Hutto-based customer raved about her TGTG experience with the specialty food store.
“I picked up my first order from Hayley’s Grains in Taylor tonight,” Michelle Smith said. “I’m happy to give them five stars. For $5.99, I got a large loaf of Easy Tiger sourdough (bread), a packet of naan and an organic cabbage and melon. The couple who run the place were so kind, and they had the cutest toddler assistant.”
She added, “They have a large selection of pre-made sauces in Thai and Indian flavors, locally sourced meat and dairy, etc. I will happily shop here again.”
Blundell said she first encountered TGTG in 2018 while she and her husband, Matthew Holwill, were living in Manchester, England.
“I worked for a charity organization, which was lovely, but the pay represented that, and my husband was getting his Ph.D.,” Blundell said. “We were on a strict budget, but it was a real treat to be able to get doughnuts because of Too Good to Go.”
When Blundell found out the app was available in Central Texas, she said it made perfect sense to participate.
“I was like, ‘Absolutely, I want to be a part of it to make the store accessible, and this is a great way to do that,’” she said. “It goes against food waste. We are taking food from the shelves and making sure that people get it,” Holwill agreed.
“The important thing is helping people reacquaint themselves with local food and doing it in a way that maybe they can’t afford on their own,” Holwill said. “But with Too Good to Go, it’s an amazing way of getting people to get back in touch with their local ecosystem of food growers.”
