Food waste prevention app coming to Charleson

CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) – A food waste prevention app is launching in Charleston which will connect people with discounted food from Lowcountry restaurants.

CEO and co-founder of Goodie Bag, Eddy Connors, says the idea to connect hungry mouths with available unsold food came from his own experience.

“Goodie Bag initially started when my former college roommate and I, we were just getting a little tired of how expensive food is becoming here in the United States. And at the same time, we had like a background working in restaurants and knowing that good food oftentimes just goes to waste, not because it’s not good and edible. It just couldn’t find a mouth in time,” Connors says.

Often, locally-owned restaurants have leftover food at the end of the day or the week, that was prepared into a meal or item but simply didn’t get picked up or purchased. Connors says that’s where the Goodie Bag platform comes in. It’s free for restaurants to use, so the app makes money when the establishments sell food, making them money, and the user gets the food at a discount, saving money.

“It’s not a hidden secret that margins are slim in this industry. The restaurant industry is tough; ask any operator. It’s a tough business to be able to stay profitable year after year. And so if we can do anything to help them increase their bottom line, reach new customers, it helps in the long run,” Connors says.

At Red’s Ice House Manager Skipper Kress says he fell in love with the idea behind the app and jumped at the chance to get on board.

“A big problem in the restaurant business is us losing revenue on food that you know, either people call in and don’t want or decide that they would like something different that we can’t resell inside the restaurant. You know, a lot of people look down on that, think that it’s secondhand food, but for us, you know, it’s all revenue. It’s all money going out of the restaurant. So with the Goodie Bag and us being able to get rid of some of that food in a better way that it actually goes to someone who wants that food. It was a no-brainer for us to kind of jump on board and try it,” Kress says.

Goodie Bag launches Friday, and users can set their location.

“So a notification will go out saying, hey, Red’s Ice House has a goodie bag. Come pick it up before 8pm tonight. And then whoever purchases that first in our app can then come here and pick it up at that time. And so as a customer, keep your notifications on so that you can participate and be alerted, and then it’s a great way to get quality, affordable food,” Connors says.

Goodie Bag started in Boulder Colorado and has expanded to a dozen cities across the US including Charlotte.

“So, when we look at different markets in the US that we can go to, we really want to understand, what does local food seem like there is how many locally owned shops are in that area? And Charleston stands out because the food seems awesome and it’s majority locally owned. You see that coming in here, it’s hard to find even a national brand that you recognize. And I love that, and that’s what we’re about,” Connors says.

Goodie Bag is currently a small business with a team of four and Connors thanks all the local restaurants that are collaborating on the app launch. He hopes to see the participation from people and places grow after the launch.

Participating restaurants so far are:

The Daily
Bodega
Saffron Cafe and Bakery
Atlyss Food Collective
Sabatinos Authentic New York City Pizza
Benny Palmetto’s Pizza
Daddy’s Girls Bakery
Great Harvest Bread
Little Peanut Bake Shop
Carolina Butcher and Beer
Charleston Bagel Co
New York City Pizza
Maccaro Charleston
Lillie Fuel
Heights Meat Market
Red’s Ice House
Graze Craze
Blend Juice Bar
French Chocolate Cafe
Joey Bag of Donuts
Benny Ravello’s
Holy City Bagels