Shop sells rescued groceries – you choose the price yourself

Created: 08/10/2022 18:33

By: Sofia Popovidi

The Good Food in Cologne: Food that has been sorted out or has just expired is offered.

The price is determined by yourself.

(Archive image) © Henning Kaiser/dpa

"The Good Food" saves groceries from the bin.

Expired products are also available for purchase.

In the meantime, the fourth location has been opened in Cologne.

Cologne – Who doesn't know it: The yoghurt in the furthest corner of the fridge has been overlooked again.

The best before date has been reached and the food ends up in the garbage again.

But is that always correct?

The founder of "The Good Food", a special store from Cologne, has developed a special concept to reduce food waste, reports 24RHEIN.

"The Good Food" in Cologne: Buy imperfect and expired food

The Cologne store sells fruit, vegetables and groceries that are just before or after the sell-by date – and at a price that customers can choose themselves.

This saves food that would otherwise end up in the bin.

"We go to the fields with our cooperating farmers ourselves and do the post-harvest," writes "The Good Food" on its website.

In addition, the shop cooperates with manufacturers "who give us food that is just before or just after the best-before date".

But is it even allowed in Germany to sell expired food?

From a legal point of view, yes, since the best-before date is only a recommendation.

“All you have to do is point out to customers that the product has already expired.

Food that has a use-by date should not be consumed beyond that,” explains the Cologne store on its website.

Save food: New branch opened in Agnesviertel

“The Good Food” now has four locations in Cologne.

The newest branch opened on October 4, 2022 in the Agnesviertel.

But it all started with a simple market stall.

There the team sold their crooked and imperfect fruit and vegetables.

The money saved from the stand was initially used as a temporary location as a pop-up store.

Then in February 2017 the first shop: on Venloer Straße in the district of Ehrenfeld.

In recent years, the locations in Sülz and two in the Agnesviertel have been added.

• New branch in the Agnesviertel:

  Neusser Platz 22 (district Cologne city center)

• Sülz

  : In the shop Casablanca in the Sülzburgstr.

  164 (Sülz), Monday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m

• Ehrenfeld:

  Shop at Venloer Str. 414 (Ehrenfeld), Monday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m

• Agnesviertel:

  Sudermanplatz 1, Wednesday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m

Cologne: Buy groceries according to the motto - "Pay what it's worth to you"

The principle of The Good Food: "Pay what it's worth to you".

(Archive image) © Henning Kaiser/dpa

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“The Good Food” has a special payment system that is even supposed to make customers think.

The motto: "Pay what it's worth to you".

Founder Nicole Klaski explains on her website: "Because at The Good Food, we are concerned both with specifically saving food from the bin and with drawing attention to the enormous amount of food waste in our society.

It is important that we realize what good food should be worth to us.”

With this concept, the Cologne store also enables people who have little money to shop more sustainably.

"Some give more, some give less, just as they can, and that's totally fine," says Klaski.