Tackling food waste

This Sunday (May 18) is World Baking Day and the perfect excuse to indulge in something sweet — but while we love the smell of fresh bread, cakes, and buns, baked goods are among the most commonly wasted food items in Irish homes.

Research from Too Good To Go revealed that over a third of Irish consumers regularly throw away food, with bakery items like bread topping the list — alongside fruit and vegetables. This comes at a cost of up to €374 per household each year in food waste, not to mention the environmental impact.

Too Good To Go, the world’s largest marketplace for surplus food, inspires consumers to fight food waste together by connecting app users with local bakeries, supermarkets, cafés and more offering ‘Surprise Bags’ of unsold food for great value for money. Machaela O’Leary, Too Good To Go’s Sales Manager for Ireland, shares her tips on how Irish consumers can cut waste, save money and enjoy great food — especially during seasonal events like World Baking Day.

Bake-Saving Tips for Home Bakers:

•Use up pastry cut-offs – Make mini tarts, jam pinwheels, or savoury cheese twists from leftover dough.

•Freeze dough and slices – When baking you can check the recipe to see if you can freeze what you are making which will avoid any of the recipe going to waste. By doing this, it will help to reduce any waste that may occur, particularly if you won’t be able to eat everything you have baked! For example, Cookie dough and banana bread freeze beautifully; slice before freezing for easy portioning.

•Turn stale into sweet – Dry sponge or brioche? Great for trifle bases, bread & butter pudding, or blitzed into cake pops.

•Don’t chill your bread – Store in a bread bin or cloth bag (not the fridge!) to prevent drying out.

•Forgotten bananas? – Perfect for baking — or freeze in chunks for future bakes.

Don’t fancy yourself as a baker?

Celebrate World Baking Day with rescued baked goods from local favourites like Off Beat Donuts, Aldi, Camerino Bakery and SuperValu — all available through Too Good To Go at a fraction of the price.

With 75% of Irish consumers now citing financial reasons as a key motivation to reduce waste, and up to 10% of global emissions linked to food waste, making small changes — or rescuing a bag of delicious baked goods — is a simple step towards a more sustainable Ireland.

Using the app is simple: just download Too Good To Go, browse local spots, reserve a Surprise Bag, and pick it up at the allotted time — enjoying great food at a fraction of the price while helping the planet.

Learn more at www.toogoodtogo.ie