New year resolutions? What better way to begin this new year than to have some powerful sustainable tools in the palm of your hands? These three apps will enable you to eat in a more sustainable manner: more taste, less waste, and student food-budget-friendly.

1. Groente- & Fruitkalender – Know your fruits and veggies!

As we all know, a healthy diet must include a lot of fruits and veggies. However, the inputs of energy, water and land together with their transportation put a big strain on the environment. The impact of different fruits and veggies varies throughout the year and thus, a good, environmentally friendly veggie today may not be so friendly in a few months. But how can we know?

That’s where this app comes in - it does all the hard work for you! Just tell it which month it is and it will give you a list of all fruits and vegetables and their impacts. The best part is that you can see from which country they come from and sort them by class – from A (very friendly) to E (very bad). So the next time you are wondering what fruits and veggies to buy, give this app a try!

Download:

• Android
• Apple

2. Too Good To Go – Fight waste and eat cheap!

Did you know that there’s more food waste in The Netherlands than anywhere else in Europe? This app will help us step up to the challenge! It provides an easy solution that involves users, restaurants and shops.

How does it work? Simple: Select. Pick up. Enjoy!

For example, if a bakery near you is using the app and didn’t sell all the food they prepared that day, you can select it and buy it for a fair price. The order and payment are easily made via the app. Afterwards you can just pick it up and treat yourself to some great baked goods. Lekker! But that’s not all... There’s extra magic to this app: you won’t know exactly what you’re getting until you pick it up, adding a whole other exciting dimension to this waste-free experience!

Download:

• Android
• Apple

3. NoFoodWasted – Discounts on food products!

This is another great app to fight food waste but it works a bit differently from the one above. It keeps you updated about all the products from your local restaurant, supermarket or other food store that are near their expiry date. The model is very straightforward: use your postcode to find stores in the app. Then, simply indicate when you want to be informed about good products with “near-expiration” discounts. Thanks to this app you can always be informed of nice deals on your local food stores!

Unfortunately, there are just a few stores using the app in Groningen. Do you think your supermarket or favourite restaurant should also participate? Then you can easily indicate this in the app or send an email to: Support@NoFoodWasted.com

Enjoy!

Download:

• Android
• Apple

Author:

Francisco Amaral
BSc Industrial Engineering and Management
FSE Sustainability Ambassy