How to save big on groceries at a store near you

PITTSBURGH — The prices of staples at the grocery store are up from April of last year, including orange juice, bread, chicken, beef and eggs.

There is a new way to save up to 50% off your groceries and the plan is exploding in growth across the country. It’s called Flashfood, and it’s teamed up with Giant Eagle stores in the Pittsburgh area.

Here’s how it works: You download the Flashfood app. Grocery stores, like Giant Eagle, list items for sale that are nearing their sell-by or use-by date. Instead of throwing out that food, the grocery stores list the items at a huge discount. Consumers click on the items they want, pay on the app, then go to the store and pick the items up. You can find everything from meat to produce, to cakes and bread. There are also canned goods.

Shoppers like Eve McPartland are saving a huge amount of money by planning meals around what’s available on the Flashfood app. “I bought a chicken taco kit. It was $15.99 for $7.97,” McPartland said. Her normal grocery bill for two people in her household was $200 a week. “It’s cut that in half, easily,” adds McPartland.

Flashfood was created by Josh Domingues, who was shocked to see how much food is thrown out each year and sent to landfills. His company has teamed up with 1,600 stores across the United States and Canada. “This is on average. The deals are 50% off your groceries. So, we have some shoppers saving thousands of dollars a year,” says Domingues. According to the Flashfood website, the company has helped divert 65 million pounds of food from landfills.

As for the food up for sale, Giant Eagle guarantees it is all still safe and fresh to eat.

“We have very rigorous food safety protocols that are in place in our stores including Flashfood,” says Jannah Jablonowski, a Giant Eagle spokesperson.

Flashfood says 80% of the food put up for sale on its app is purchased.

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