Free Food is the best thing – I love nothing more than eating a free slice of cake or walking away with free food. Did you know that in the UK there is a huge offering of free food apps – really! Just by downloading and using some free apps you can eat for free or be part of a rewards program that continues to provide free rewards.
This year has already been dubbed the year of the squeeze due to the rising cost of living so these free food apps can help you save money on food and drink. I have always looked to save money on food, I buy yellow stickers when I see them and also use any discounts or coupons I come across. I have done this out of choice rather than necessity but I think this year more than ever many more of us will be looking to take advantage of free food apps and make savings where we can.
There’s no such thing as a free meal or so the saying goes. However, I want to share that there are indeed ways to get free food. There are numerous apps on your smartphone right now that allows you to try new food products or new brands for free. If they are not on your smartphone – why not? Get started with these popular free apps right now as I share the best ways to save money on food and show you how you can bag a free treat .
Today I am sharing the best Free Food Apps that you can download right now on your smartphone, often all you need to provide is a valid email address to register so that the companies can send you relevant offers. Many will have a second email address for these types of emails.
Why do companies give away free food?
Companies give away free food for a number of reasons. For some, it is an incentive to try new products in the hope that you will add them to your shopping basket in the future. The same with fast food or restaurants they want to tempt you into the premises so that you try their food and choose to come back again in the future and spend money.
Aside from apps, there are dedicated couponing sites, like Bountii, that partner with companies to give away free food. By distributing free samples, companies can increase brand visibility and awareness. This is particularly effective for new businesses or for launching new products that need exposure.
For a growing number of apps, like Too Good to Go or Olio it helps reduce food waste and that is the primary purpose of giving away food. The free food apps hope to reduce waste and manage better stock control.
I remember as a child walking around supermarkets whilst my parents shopped and looking for anyone handing out trials of new foods, the apps work in a similar way but thankfully you get a whole portion now rather than the teeniest taste tester! Free food is no new thing, it has been used as a marketing tool for decades, now the only difference is that they are on apps rather than being handed out in shops.
Using apps to give away treats saves money from the companies too as they don’t need to employ people to hand out the free treats. Likewise using an app is more common than coupons because it saves the cost of printing and we all know that we are moving away from magazines and embracing a more digital lifestyle. Therefore the switch to using apps make sense.
Giving away your email address by signing up to the apps also helps the brands with email marketing or tracking what people buy. Therefore do be aware of what information that you are happy to give away and make sure the preferences you set on the app are those that you are comfortable with.
Totally Free Food Apps to Download Right Now!
These offers are available for everyone on a mobile app and will not cost you a penny. You really can get totally free food at cafés, restaurants and supermarkets which will include free chips, free dessert and more. Here’s how:
- Krispy Kreme app – Grab a Free Doughnut on your first visit, I love a Krispy Kreme, and you can get one for free when you sign up for the Krispy Kreme loyalty scheme. You can pick up the free donut either in a Tesco with a Krispy Kreme counter or in an actual store. This saves you around £1.50, so won’t break the bank, but it’s a sweet freebie. It is a one-off this one – but get the teenagers to do it too and you can all have a free item.
- Free Costa Coffee, they have recently changed their reward scheme but quite often have a free drink of coffee in the app. Also, you get every eighth drink when using the app. This is therefore a regular free coffee you can grab, just download this app today for their exclusive deals.
- The Mcdonald’s app regularly has tempting offers to encourage you in. Like costa, they offer a free drink but in Mcdonald it is every fifth drink instead which could be one a week if you get one every day on your way to work!
- Shopimum could not be simpler. Firstly you buy the product from a specified supermarket. Next upload a picture of the receipt and the money is transferred to your PayPal or bank account. Register using this link , when I looked today you could claim two free bottles of cider, a loaf of bread and collect a chocolate bar as a welcome offer! Checkout Supermarket is another free food app that gives consumers the opportunity to eat for free. Again download the free app on your smartphone. Next when you are in the supermarket look at what free food you can pick up and try. When at home, upload the receipt directly into the app. Then you can claim the money into your PayPal account. The only drawback with Checkout Supermarket is that you need £20 to withdraw your money unless you want to pay a small fee.
- Green Jinn is the third coupon / free food app. There seem to be fewer freebies on this one but more coupons for everyday essentials. It works the same way with you uploading the receipt to get your money. This includes coupons for even fruit and veg which is good.
- Olio is a brilliant community idea where retailers and the local community can offer food for free that people no longer want. Plenty of the supermarkets like Tesco are signed up for the scheme. It is such a great way to save food from being wasted. Olio says over 1.2 million users are now signed up to its app across the UK. So there are lots of people offering food and picking it up – though as you’d expect, you’ll find more listed in big cities National chains include Costa, Pret a Manger, Sainsbury’s, Selfridges and Tesco. In London, there’s also Eurostar, First Group and Planet Organic and we’ve seen lots offered by smaller, independent cafés, bakeries and restaurants across the country. The food available will be very short dates if they are from a supermarket or retail place but that does not mean that the food is no good. There is a difference between BBE (best before) dates and out of date food. We regularly eat food past its BBE for a number of reasons and we advise using common sense – even Morrisons have said that they are doing away with dates on milk!
- Greggs, when you download the app and register they immediately pop a free drink in your wallet ready for your next visit. This allows you to collect a free a drink of your choice. Greggs also have a number of rewards where after buying 8 of something you get a freebie. They also give you a freebie on your birthday!
- Another way to get free food is by signing up as a mystery shopper this is a really fun way to have a night out eating in a nice restaurant. In exchange, you provide feedback on customer service. Once you’ve signed up, you’ll need to look out for mystery-dining jobs – you can find these by logging in when you check the site or looking out for email alerts. I did this very regularly and it was brilliant and included many of the popular restaurants. You can pretty much always take a second person who also gets a free meal too. If you have time I’d say this is such a brilliant side hustle on its own! You can also go to the cinema or bowling on mystery shopping gigs too!
- Burger King offer a free Whopper on the Burger King App with your first order on a £3 spend. So basically buy one and get another totally free burger, which is great if you like free fast food!
- Taco Bell is a chain that is growing in the UK and you can get a free taco at any restaurant. You will also receive 50 Taco Bell Supreme rewards points (which makes you 150 points away from free Churros or Cinnamon Twists). If you’ve never downloaded the Taco Bell mobile app, get it on your phone
Not Totally Free But …
I am a huge fan of the Too Good To Go App – this clever app saves food from being thrown away and ending up in a landfill. Instead, it is sold off in magic bags. We have had magic bags from Costa, Morrisons, Co-op, Starbucks and Cafe Nero so do read my full review on this app. You can even find local restaurants on the app.
Another way to try new food products is with a Degusta Box, my kids love this arriving each month and it offer good value for money. I actually had this delivered to my uni student child when they were at uni as it is a nice monthly treat for them.
Celebrate your birthday with completely free food offered by various restaurants and cafés. Usually, all you need to do is sign up to their mailing list and you’ll be sent an email around the time of your birthday, with a voucher to claim the freebie.
Also, keep an eye out on kids eat for free with a paying adult. This runs in lots of places during school holidays and often kids get a free small plate with a paying adult. This can really help in the school holidays.
Like all things, these free food apps are only worth it if you were planning to buy the product or go to the shop anyway. I tend to check the apps just as I am leaving home to go shopping to see if there are freebies that I can take advantage of. The savings are only a few pounds so I don’t go out of my way but I make use of them where I can.
Top Tip When Using Free Food Apps
A great tip is that is if the free foods are not something you can make use of then pop the food items into the food bank collection and help those less fortunate than yourself. This can make a difference to those in your local community and help them out without costing you any money of you cannot afford to buy especially for the food bank.
Another top tip for free food is to go foraging, eat local and seasonal where you can, my kids love blackberry picking for example and then make a lovely homemade crumble. You can also make nettle tea and things. Nature has a brilliant way of providing for us.
If you don’t want to forage look at what you can grow at home. Herbs for meals are easy to grow on a windowsill and so are things like rhubarb and tomatoes in a grow bag or garden. Start off with the easier things and see what you can grow at home – this is always free and I found that when the kids were young they were far more likely to try something that they had grown themselves.
We hope that you have enjoyed these tips on where you can find totally the free food apps and also some of the best rewards when you first sign up. If you spot another free food opportunity do mention it in the comments or let me know on Twitter. If you like to keep an eye on how I save money make sure that you are following me on Instagram as I share many tips, tricks and exclusive offers over there too, especially time-limited offers that we don’t have time to blog about before the deal ends!
EmmaB
Blogger, teacher and more importantly mum to 3. Emma shares money-saving and making tips around the web.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful food app, Now I will try this.
These are great ideas! I have heard of the Shopmium one. I think my sister uses it too. What I truly lie is the fact that you can donate some of what you get to a charity that will make use of it. Thanks for sharing these.