Flashfood is an app to save on groceries, but not like you’ve probably been using. It’s nothing like the popular apps Ibotta, Fetch or Shopkick. Flashfood has nothing to do with coupons.
It sells food nearing its expiration date at a discounted rate, often up to 50% off. This helps reduce food waste while allowing stores to recoup some costs.
To use the app, download it and create an account. Then, you can browse the available food items and add them to your cart.
Then, when you’re ready to check out, enter your payment information, and the employee will deliver the food to your door.
Let’s get into how does the flash food app work? Below you fill step by step with how to use the app and my personal review and shopping trip with a video.
Remember that you are getting good food at 50% off or more and reducing food waste. You are bound to find some great deals.
I’ve included a video toward the end of the post on my experience.
How The Flashfood App Works
1. Download the flashfood app and create an account ( Use my referral code TASI32ONE get $5 off your first $10 order! Scroll down to learn how to do this before you make a purchase to earn your $5. ) Once you sign up, you can refer your friends too!
2. Select the grocery store available in your flashfood zone
3. View items and add them to your cart
4. Enter your payment information. This information will be saved for future purchases.
5. Confirm the location you are picking up your food.
6. Head to your store and let a self-checkout attendant know you are there to pick up a flashfood order.
The flashfood locations are typically by the front entrance of the store. The app will tell you where to go if you don’t have a self-checkout area. Commonly it’s the self-checkout or customer service area.
Bring some reusable bags to bring your groceries home, or grab a shopping cart.
The discount Flaashfood items are stored in a refrigerator or storage rack near the front of the grocery store. The flashfood app works to minimize food waste in your local area.
The employee will load up your cart with the items you have selected. You don’t need to show the app or anything. Give the employee your name.
Unfortunately, you do not get a receipt for these items, so we can’t stack them with grocery-saving apps like Ibotta, Fetch, or Shopkick.
That’s okay because it’s an easy way to save on food. You don’t need to go through all the aisles at your local store or head out once or twice a week.
Not all the clearance items are in the flash food app. For my extreme savers, like myself, if you want to maximize every savings, look through the Flash food app while shopping and check the store for clearance prices.
The Flashfood app doesn’t have all the price-reduced meat in its cooler.
When you do a pickup order, it will tell you when to pick it up. For example, if I ordered on July 21, I must pick it up by July 22. So it typically seems to be a 24 window to pick up your order.
Usually, the items are ready to go right away, so you can head out to your store after your order.
The flashfood app is a great way to save money on groceries while also helping to reduce food waste.
Is the Flashfood app free?
Yes, Flashfood is a free app to download.
Is The Flashfood App Available Near Me?
The flashfood app is currently available in select markets in Canada and the United States.
To find out if the flashfood app is available near you, visit the website and enter your location.
Some of the popular stores are Loblaws, Giant, Tops, Meyer.
What if I don’t live near a store that uses the flashfood app?
Hopefully, this app will continue to expand and grow near you. In the meantime, if you need help cutting back your grocery bill, I have so many tips and ways we keep ours to $100/week for a family of four HERE.
Can I use the flashfood app to purchase food from any store?
No, you can only purchase food from stores participating in the flashfood program. Currently, there are a limited number of stores participating. However, the app is continuing to expand and add new stores.
How Pickup Works
Head inside to the grocery store you selected. You will see a large Flashfood cooler. Ours looks like this.
What Happens if You Don’t Pickup Food?
They will hold onto your food until it expires. After that, it won’t be available. Make sure you pick it up because you already paid for it.
Who Owns Flash food app?
Josh Domingues is the CEO of the Flash Food app. According to the website, it all started with a phone call.
“Josh’s sister who was a chef called him distraught one night and said, “I just threw out $4000 worth of food.” At first Josh laughed and thought it was a joke, but was shocked to discover that the food was from a catered event and a decision was made to throw it all out. This seemed too hard to dismiss as a common everyday occurrence, yet, that was the norm in the food and grocery industries.”
Click here for more of the story.
My FlashFood Review and First Purchase
So far, the flashfood app has been an excellent way for me to save on groceries. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a way to reduce food waste and save money.
Here is a recent order I did with the Flash Food app.
In our area, Tops Markets is the grocery stores to choose from. Your grocery stores will vary based on your flashfood zone.
After you download the app and a store near you, you must add a payment type. You can add your credit card for payment. At this time, a credit card was the only option for payment.
Once you select your items, you will hit to confirm at your local store and wait for the payment to process. The app did take a few minutes when I did my first order. I thought it wasn’t working and went to hit confirm my purchase again, but it said the items I wanted weren’t available.
I didn’t see my order under the pickup tab, so I ended up closing the app and coming back to it 10 minutes later.
When I opened the flashfood app, I had a notification for my pickup. It was confirmed.
The flashfood app will have all different deals daily. I’ve seen an assortment of chicken, steak, milk, cheese, and plenty of produce.
The produce box is a favorite of mine. Especially if I’m looking for veggies for the animals in the winter. If I wasn’t growing a more extensive garden each year to store food for the winter, I would be utilizing the produce box weekly.
When you select items at your store, the app will show you the best before date. If you have any hesitations with the expiration date, this will help give you peace of mind. Personally, these dates don’t mean much to me. I’ll easily toss items in the freezer.
The flashfood app shows you the regular price of each item.
It’s so easy to pick up I never have to wait long because it’s right near the self-checkout registers where you ask the employee to get your flashfood order.
Here’s a quick video with a closer look at the groceries I got this week from Flashfood.
FOODS PURCHASED WITH FLASHFOOD
2 Jennie- O Turkey Bacon $1.99- Regular price $3.99 each
Monk’s Cinnamon Bread $1.60– Regular price $3.99
Kasia’s Pierogis $2.16- Regular price $5.39
Veggie Box $5- The box had one tomato, a pack of grape tomatoes, head of iceberg lettuce, a pack of asparagus, mushrooms, and one zucchini. That’s six items for $5 or $0.83 each.
Not sure about the regular price, but I know mushrooms are typically around $2 for a pack that size, and peppers are generally $1 each. Grape Tomatoes pack closer to $2 a pack. The veggie box is an easy way to get great deals.
HOW TO REDEEM YOUR $5 REWARD
When you want to use my referral code to get your $5 go to the app and hit the little person icon in the upper left-hand corner.
Then hit Rewards. This is where you will find your unique referral code and where you can enter my referral code BEFORE you make your first purchase.
I think the flashfood app is a great way to save money on groceries while helping reduce food waste. I will definitely be using it again in the future.
If you have any questions about the flashfood app, please leave a comment below.
Tonja
Tuesday 6th of February 2024
I have been using it for over a year. I love the ease and pricing. I even use it when traveling to different areas that I plan to buy groceries at anyway. I buy what I am interested in and meal plan around my purchases. I also freeze or dehydrate many of my purchases in meal size servings to use later.
Christi
Saturday 27th of January 2024
How does Flashfood make money? I assume I'm making a payment to Flashfood, not the store??
Tasia
Monday 29th of January 2024
I would think so, if the store is planning on throwing it out, I wonder if Flashfood covers the cost? Not entirely sure, but it would be fun to research this and do a post on it.