Too Good to Go - how a young tech company is tackling food waste

Welcome to episode 14 of The Real Podcast, brought to you by Real Kombucha, brewers of the non-alcoholic alternative to a fine wine or champagne, now served in some of the UK’s best bars, restaurants, pubs and hotels, not to mention right here online. Our podcast is available on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts… all the usual places, so make sure you subscribe.

Last Thursday we headed into East London to chat to Jamie Crummie, a former human rights and refugee lawyer who has turned his attentions to one of the most under-publicised issues we’re currently facing. Food waste amounts to around 8-10% of greenhouse gas emissions, and yet 70% of Brits are unaware of the link between what’s dumped in the dustbin at the end of the day and the biggest crisis of our times: climate change.

A born tech disruptor, Jamie Crummie co-founded the Too Good To Go app to try to tackle this problem, allowing consumers to connect with food sellers such as Morrisons, Costa Coffee, Cafe Nero and plenty of smaller independents, and collect “Magic Bags” of their waste produce at the end of each day at an affordable cost. It’s a bit like having a digital version of those supermarket discount shelves right there in your pocket.

Amazingly, the app recently celebrated their millionth saved meal – testament to the strength of the movement they’ve helped to inspire. Jamie has subsequently been listed as one of Forbes 30 Under 30, although he claims that’s neither here nor there.

Here, then, is our interview with Jamie Crummie, food waste activist. We get the sense we’ll be hearing a lot more from this guy in the future.