The GTA’s first ever crowd sourced

Grocery Savings Guide

Groceries are getting more expensive quickly

The Canadian Food Price Report shows the annual cost of food for the average Canadian family has increased by 28% since 2020. With a projected $1,065.60 increase in food bills this year alone, affording groceries is becoming a lot harder for many of us. 

We set out to try to help the GTA community shop smarter by crowd-sourcing the best ways to save money on groceries in today’s challenging shopping environment. We asked members of over 50 local Facebook groups to share their tips and tricks to save money on groceries. Over 500 people shared their advice and with their help, we created the GTA’s first crowd-sourced grocery savings guide. 

The guide features the 10 most popular and impactful tips to help you ace the grocery-saving basics, shop smart and cook smart to get the best value for your grocery budget.

Ace the Basics

Shop Weekly Sales – Grocery store flyers typically get released on Thursday morning. Use the Flipp app to browse them easily and find the best deals on products you need.  

Price Matching – Save time and money by price-matching the best sales at your go-to store. Use the Reebee app to make your checkout experience smoother and ensure the store you go to offers price matching. 

Store Selection – Avoid shopping in dense urban areas and at higher-end grocery store chains whenever possible. Shop at discount stores instead and prioritize stores in less dense areas to find the best prices.

Shop Smart

Buy Close-To-Expiry Products – Use the FlashFood app to find and buy items that are close to expiry but still good to eat. Products are often sold in small bundles for up to 50% below store prices. 

Buy Imperfect Fruits and Veggies – Use Eat Impact to get fresh surplus and imperfect produce delivered. Save up to 40% off grocery store prices and feel great about rescuing produce at risk of becoming food waste. 

Rescue Prepared foods – Use the To Good To Go app to find prepared foods that are close to expiry, but still good to eat or freeze right away. Check daily towards the end of the day to find the best deals.

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Use coupon Fresh25 at checkout to redeem the discount.

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Cook Smart

Master Your Fridge – The average Canadian family throws out $1,300 worth of food yearly. Better fridge management can help you reduce the food that spoils before you eat it. Put your new groceries behind what you have left in the fridge to make sure you eat the food that needs to get eaten quicker first. It takes just a minute and can help you save big.

Leftover Night – Plan a weekly day to clear out your fridge and make a meal with leftover items that need to be used. Use these recipes for inspiration to help you make easy delicious fridge night meals. 

Plan Your Meals – Planning your meals in advance and buying exactly what you need will help you save and make it easier to take advantage of weekly deals. Use an app like Plan To Eat to get organized and turn your meal plan into a shopping list with just a click. 

Turn Deals Into Freezer Meals – Turn great bulk deals into ready-to-heat freezer meals to help you save money and time on nights you don’t have the time or energy to cook. This will help you save big by reducing your take-out orders.

We hope these tips help you navigate these challenging grocery shopping times. If you have any other tips or tricks please share them here for future updates.

A better way to shop & save

Fresh fruits and veggies keep on getting more expensive. Meanwhile, billions of pounds of produce go to waste every year due to oversupply and strict cosmetic standards.

Impact rescues perfectly fresh surplus and imperfect produce to help you eat healthy, save money and do good!

🍎 Eat Healthy – Stock your fridge with fresh fruits and veggies.

💰 Save Money – Save 40% off major grocery store prices.

🌎 Do good – Fight food waste and help build a more sustainable food system.