Canada’s Food Price Report – annual research developed by Dalhousie University, the University of Guelph, the University of Saskatchewan, and the University of British Columbia – projects that an average Canadian family will spend an additional $801.56 on groceries in 2025. With food prices expected to rise by 3-5% this year, nearly one in three Canadians plan to buy imperfect produce or surplus food from restaurants and stores.

To help cut down on food waste, Danish-based app Too Good To Go and Whole Foods Market are collaborating to help consumers prevent food waste. As of Jan. 9, offers from all Whole Foods Market locations across Canada go live on Too Good To Go, including stores in the Greater Toronto Area, Metro Vancouver, Victoria and Ottawa.

Consumers can reserve two types of Whole Foods Market “Surprise Bags” on the app: “Prepared Foods Surprise Bags,” containing surplus soups and ready-to-eat meals, will be sold at $9.99 for a $30 value; and “Bakery Surprise Bags,” filled with surplus breads, muffins, scones and cookies, will be sold at $6.99 for a $21 value, the supermarket chain says.

Caitlin Leibert, vice president of sustainability at Whole Foods Market, tells strategy the chain pledged to cut its food waste in half by 2030.

“Whole Foods Market has a legacy of reducing food waste, from upcycling imperfect foods to donating items to food banks and rescue organizations,” Leibert says. “Our collaboration with Too Good To Go builds on this longstanding work. With Too Good To Go, we’ve found an innovative way to not only decrease our food waste and therefore reduce our environmental footprint but bring our communities along in the process.”

The Canadian Whole Foods and Good to Go partnership follows the success of a similar U.S. launch in July 2024, when 495 locations were added to the food waste app. One in two consumers who saved a “Surprise Bag” at Whole Foods Market in the U.S. made additional in-store purchases, according to Whole Foods Market. For the chain, the partnership offered stores a chance to boost foot traffic, drive sales and reduce food waste.

With this latest round of store launches, consumers across North America can now save food from 530 Whole Foods Market locations, the brand says, adding that in less than six months, Americans saved more than $11 million US after buying more than 650,000 meals at Whole Foods Market.

Last February, Instacart added Whole Foods Market to its app in Canada with the promise its products would be delivered in 30 minutes or less.