I paid four dollars for a box of sushi last Tuesday. Not grocery store sushi — actual sushi from a restaurant near my office that normally charges eighteen dollars for the same box. The only catch: I picked it up at 8:45 PM, fifteen minutes before they closed.

Restaurants throw away an enormous amount of food every night — prepared items they cannot sell the next day, overstock from slower-than-expected days, bakery items that go stale within hours. A new category of apps connects you with that surplus at deep discounts. I have saved hundreds of dollars and eaten food I would never have paid full price for.

Too Good To Go (the biggest one)

This is the app that started the trend. Restaurants, bakeries, and grocery stores post “Surprise Bags” of surplus food at a third to half the original price. You reserve and pay in the app, then pick up during a designated window — usually thirty minutes before closing. You do not get to choose exactly what is in the bag, which is part of the fun. I have gotten sushi, pastries, entire loaves of artisan bread, and once an enormous bag of produce from a grocery store for five dollars.

Coverage is best in cities. Smaller towns have fewer options but it is growing fast. Bakeries and coffee shops are the most reliable — they always have end-of-day surplus and the bags are usually generous.

Flashfood (grocery focus)

Flashfood partners with grocery store chains to sell items approaching their sell-by date at up to fifty percent off. Unlike Too Good To Go, you see exactly what you are buying — a box of chicken breasts for three dollars instead of nine, a fruit tray for two dollars. You buy in the app and pick up from a dedicated Flashfood fridge near the front of the store.

Meat and produce are the best deals. I regularly buy ground beef that I freeze immediately and use within a month. The sell-by date on meat is conservative — if you freeze it the same day, it is perfectly good for months.

Food For All (east coast US)

Similar to Too Good To Go but you can browse specific items and the discounts apply an hour before closing instead of requiring a pre-reserved bag. Smaller coverage area but if you are in Boston, New York, or DC it is worth checking.