A woman who visited ASDA was left bitterly 'disappointed' after she opened up £12-worth of shopping. After the experience, she says she'd rather go to Morrisons, because it's 'better value'.
When Dayna Farrington, a reporter at our sister site Birmingham Live, found ASDA bags containing £12-worth of food for just £4, she couldn't believe her luck. She discovered the bags on TooGoodToGo - an app you'll almost definitely have heard of if you're a Manchester Evening News reader.
But what she found when she opened up the bag left her disappointed. Here's what she said:
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The first time I spotted it on the app there were two left. I clicked reserve straight away - but with four hours to go before collection time, it was cancelled due to not enough surplus food in store. This happened another seven times. Including one where they cancelled five minutes before collection was due to start - and I was in my car ready to go.
On Wednesday I naively clicked order again and to my surprise as the collection time of 8pm approached, I had no notifications to cancel - so off I went. I felt like this magic bag was going to be a complete mystery.
The app said: "Rescue an assortment of grocery items which could include sandwiches, ready meals, dairy products, baked goods, produce and/or cupboard items. Your magic bag might include items past their best before date, but these are still perfectly delicious and fit for consumption.
"Remember the original value of the bag is based upon the original price of each product, not its reduced markdown price. Note that due to its size, this store has limited range of products and item variety might not always be possible."
I paid £4 for the magic bag - and the app said it should have been £12 for the items. It wasn't the priciest bag I've picked up so far, nor was it the cheapest.
Morrisons and SPAR were £3.09, Greggs was £2.95, Toby Carvery £3.29, Krispy Kreme £3.50, Costa £3, Harvester was £2.99 and Starbucks £5.
Off I went to the store and when I arrived they actually brought out the two bags as they said I could choose as I was the first to arrive. They told me there was a lamb shank in one of the bags.
I don't particularly like lamb for one, and when I looked in the bags, the one with the lamb shank had fewer items in. So I opted for the other - which actually had six items inside.
I investigated further when I got back into the car. A loaf of bread, pineapple fingers, a shepherd's pie ready meal, three onions, coleslaw and millionaire's desserts.
When I got home I did check Asda's website to see how much these items would cost £11.54 - so slightly less than the £12 price tag on the website. I did only pay £4, however I couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed.
The Warburtons toastie loaf should be £1.25; the Asda Extra Special two Belgian chocolate millionaire's desserts were £2.50; the three brown onions 79p; theExtra Special shepherd's pie £4; pineapple fingers £1; and extra special mature cheddar cheese coleslaw would be £2.
All of the items either went out of date that day, or the following day. But we managed to find a use for them all.
We decided to freeze the bread to use for toast on upcoming mornings for all the family. We also froze the ready meal so we could put it to good use at a later date.
I snacked on the pineapple sticks the following day for a mid-morning work break snack. While the millionaire's desserts lasted seconds when we walked through the door. They were delicious.
I used some coleslaw with my lunches over the next few days - and the onions we used with our planned meals over the coming days as they lasted longer than their expiry dates.
Even though we had a few items, I don't feel it was worth the £12 price tag it should be, so I did feel somewhat disappointed. I picked up a similar one from Morrisons and received so much more food.
But then again, you really can't deny the appeal of the Too Good To Go app at all. It is a great idea and makes a lot of sense - especially as people are trying to save money. And with how quickly the bags often sell out - people obviously agree. The food is better given out at a discounted price than going straight in the bin.
It is really worth testing in your local area to see what discounts you can pick up. Search for the 'Too Good To Go' app on your phone.
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