New Website Connects Shoppers With Perishable Foods At A Discount

When food goes bad at supermarkets, it's usually just thrown out. It seems like a waste, which is why entrepreneur Carlos de Santiago created the program BuyMeBy, which allows stores to offer discounts on certain perishable food items that are approaching their expiration dates. The closer the expiration date, the lower the price.

Shoppers can check out discounted prices with the BuyMeBy app on their smartphone or through the BuyMeBy website. They'll be able to see how close the food is to expiring, the discounted price, whether the food is still available and can be reserved, and even whether the food can be delivered to them, according to FastCompany. Currently, the service is only offered through their website.

The goal of the program is to reduce food waste by "putting perishable products in your hands before they're in danger of being thrown away by the stores," explains BuyMeBy's website.

If consumers don't buy the products before their expiration dates, BuyMeBy sends out alerts to food banks, which can accept expired food. 

"We're helping get food to the underserved," de Santiago said in an interview with FastCompany. "Either if you're on a really low budget or you're homeless... and that reduces waste by tons."

Selling past-its-prime food at a discount is obviously a great way to help limit food waste. And as more and more people realize how much food is actually being wasted, it's an issue they're finally paying attention to.