Saving Dinner with a Food-Rescue App
Listen to a café owner and a customer explain how a food-rescue app works. Build B1 listening skills around food, money and sustainability.
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Saving Dinner with a Food-Rescue App
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Every evening, cafés and restaurants have food that is still good but cannot be sold the next day. Food-rescue apps offer that extra food at a lower price. Elena owns a small bakery, and Tom is one of her customers. Elena, when did your bakery join the app?
We joined six months ago. Before that, we sometimes threw away sandwiches, bread and cakes at closing time.
How do you decide what to offer?
At about four o’clock, I count what is left and create a surprise bag in the app. Customers see the collection time and the price, but not every item inside. That lets us use whatever is available.
Tom, what happened when you ordered a bag yesterday?
I checked the app on my way home and reserved a bag from Elena’s bakery for four pounds. I paid in the app and collected it between six and half past six.
Did you get enough food for one meal?
More than enough. The bag contained two sandwiches, three rolls and a slice of carrot cake. I could not eat everything, so I froze the rolls for another day.
Elena, does the app solve the whole problem of food waste?
No. We still need to plan carefully and avoid making too much food. Some customers also expect to choose every item, although the point is to rescue what is left. However, we waste much less now, and new customers often return to buy something at the normal price.
Tom, what advice would you give a new user?
Check the collection time before reserving and remember that the contents are a surprise. For me, the best part is trying food from local places without spending too much.