With the cost of living crisis worsening and concerns over environmental welfare increasing, we tried the world's largest surplus food app, Too Good To Go.

Reporter Megan Carr went to participating stores in Kent, including a Starbucks on Sheppey, an Italian grocery in Sittingbourne and a Pret a Manger in Maidstone.

Too Good To Go is a free app which allows anyone to buy low cost, unsold food from supermarkets, cafés, restaurants, garages, takeaways and more at the end of the day to prevent it from being thrown away.

The company has been rolling out its first stage trial in Kent, London and Surrey since the end of January, with customers choosing "Magic Bags" from the retailers on the scheme.

Users can rescue surprise Magic Bags full of surplus food and drink products near to their expiry date or just leftovers from the day's fresh produce that's still perfectly safe to eat.

With the promise of quality food at a low price, we bought a couple of the bags to see if they really were worth all the hype...

I've known of this app for a couple of years now, it wasn't as big back in 2020 but when I used to work part-time at Bluewater and a couple of the stores there, such as Lola's cupcakes, had signed up to the initiative.

They could get rid of their leftover muffins by selling them at a low cost and doing their bit for the environment at the same time. It was great for me as I could get a sweet treat at 9pm on my way home.

However, having moved on from that job and now working all over the county, I'd forgotten all about it.

But after seeing Too Good To Go's new initiative push, it's a good time to give it another try, this time in town centres.

The Isle of Sheppey

Signing up to the app and logging on is very easy. If you have an iPhone you just link up to your Apple ID, no fuss. It also asks for your location so it can tell you straight away what is available.

I felt quite disheartened that nothing was around on the Island. I looked for the deals at 10am, however, I was being told they'd all sold out at around 3pm the day before.

Despite this the app does make it clear you need to keep checking throughout the day as the stores will update the app if they have bags available as their opening hours draw to a close.

So when I checked again at about 1.30pm, I was thrilled to see Starbucks at Neats Court, Queenborough, had two bags available for £4.

It promised £15 worth of products and could be collected between 5pm and 5.30pm – a good time if you're returning home after work.

After parking up I walked in, said I was here for the Too Good To Go bag and it was handed over – they didn't ask for my confirmation email, nothing.

However, after I'd received it the app did prompt me to swipe a confirmation tab on my phone, so I could prove it had been picked it up from the shop.

Once I'd got the goods home, I was very excited to get them out and have a look.

The first two items I removed from the bag weren't the best thing I could've got: two vegan Beyond Meat Breakfast sandwiches – a pea protein patty, tomato relish, tofu turmeric egg alternative and a slice of coconut oil-based alternative cheese.

I wasn't thrilled, especially at the fact I'd got a double, however I did understand that this was a leftover bag and you get what you get. At least it was the next day's lunch sorted.

On Deliveroo, the sandwiches are sold for £5.65, so in that sense I'd got an incredible deal.

There were three more items in the bag: a gorgeously soft strawberry and cream muffin, an iced raspberry swirl, that was a tad dry, and a birthday cake cookie.

As someone with a massive sweet tooth I was chuffed, they were all items I would have bought myself.

The swirl is normally £3, the muffin £2.65 and the cookie £2.40. All in all, a goodie bag that cost me £4 was full of treats worth £19.35.

So although there was nothing massively substantial in the bag, and it isn't going to make much of a difference to someone on the breadline, the opportunity to get rolls and goodies from a brand as a cut-price treat could make all the difference.

Sittingbourne

Wanting to try something that wasn't a chain, I was happy to see that The Italian Shop, which had recently opened in Sittingbourne High Street, was also offering bags.

The store, which opened last month, is unapologetically expensive and the owners defended their prices with the fact all their produce if freshly made and imported from Italy.

Because of this, I wasn't surprised that their mystery bags cost £5.

At this store, you could collect your Too Good To Go order between 4.30pm and 5.30pm, again another good time if your passing through on your way home.

Walking in the staff were very happy and knew right away I must have been there for my mystery bag. They were very polite, handed me my produce and asked that I swipe my order just to confirm the transaction had been completed.

After getting home and opening my bag I was quite surprised. I didn't really know what to expect but inside were two halves of stuffed courgettes covered in tomatoes and cheese, a large roasted pepper and toasted bruschetta topped with roasted tomatoes.

All the food was very securely packaged and clearly fresh from that day's cooking.

I felt a bit underwhelmed compared to what I had got from Starbucks, however, I reminded myself this was from an independent business that was nothing like the coffee chain.

The food was delicious and so full of flavour – I can only imagine they were better when brought fresh.

I don't know how much these things would've cost individually but when you consider it was a courgette, a pepper, some bread and some roasted tomatoes, I can't really imagine paying more than £5 for it.

However, it did enable me to taste the shop's produce and I would definitely go back to see what is fresh.

Maidstone

Pret a Manger was the destination of choice for our breakfast pick up in Maidstone. You could even reserve it the day before.

One thing which was obvious from the app was despite not having as many options as the likes of Just Eat, Deliveroo, or UberEats, it was still extremely popular and you have to be quick on the button to order.

Equipped with my code for a £3 breakfast bag (with some £17 worth of food inside) I headed to the store in Fremlin Walk for 10am, having been given a 10am to 10.30am slot, after being advised you'll get the best picks if you get their as early as possible.

The process of pick-up was speedy and efficient, only having to wait a couple of minutes while staff pack your bits right in front of you.

The most pleasant surprise of the whole thing came when I got back and unpacked the goods – a bacon and egg roll, two tomato mozzarella croissants (one veggie and one meat), and porridge – was how hot it managed to stay.

Understandably, the porridge was plain and a bit bland but it was piping hot and would be perfect with a bit of jam or golden syrup.

The breakfast roll was fresher than expected, considering it was a leftover, and was also hot, while the two breakfast croissants were as tasty as you'd expect if you bought them five minutes after being cooked.

Overall, the experience was a game-changing experience and I'll definitely be using the app again, as well as recommending to others.

Reduced food and helping save the environment, what's not to like?

I am interested to see what products you would get from other establishments and because it is different every day and varies from area to area no purchase would ever be the same.

The popularity of the app is perhaps demonstrated by how quickly and small a window of opportunity to snap up a magic bag is, especially from the supermarkets signed up in Kent.

A wider search shows Morrisons, the Co-op, Nisa Local, Budgens and Costcutter as some of the grocery stores that are part of the scheme and perhaps this is where the real benefits will lie for those facing harder times.

They were certainly the hardest bags to come by and had been taken up before a lot of the others – often with £10 bags reduced to as little as £3.29 when we tried to procure one.

Perhaps the only downside is that obviously some of the establishments offering these collections shut towards 9pm, so unless you live nearby or work late hours it may be more hassle than it is worth.

Restaurants on the app include Toby Carvery – which also provides breakfast and carvery bags as well as vegetarian options – and Harvester.

The bargain prices also make you forget that you're also helping the environment.

By buying two magic bags I saved the CO2 equivalent of charging 885 smart phones, apparently.

The app also states that by the time I've bought five I would've saved the equivalent CO2 produced by driving 31 miles – although that perhaps doesn't necessarily take into account how far you've driven to get there.

Another thing to consider is that the bags – while offering separate vegetarian and meat options – do not always guarantee allergen information when ordering.

There is a range of other retailers and supermarkets on the app including Costa, Morrisons and the Co-op.

You can download Too Good To Go on the Apple app store or on Google Play store.