Saving money on the food shop is something we all want to do. By using Approved Food it can really bring costs down with savings of 70% versus a supermarket.
Food waste in the UK is a big problem.
While there are pockets of success with people not letting food make it to the rubbish tip (anyone use the Olio app?) not enough is being done.
Each and every year there’s over 7 million tonnes of food and drink is thrown away!
What’s worse is that much of this food is still perfectly edible and is going to waste for no good reason. It’s still perfectly good to eat, is safe, tastes fine, but it’s the labelling that’s confusing people.
This is where Approved Food may have come up with a solution.
What is Approved Food?
Taking yellow stickers to a whole new level, Approved Food is an online supermarket selling foods, drinks and household products that are near to or past their best before dates.
We know a reduced price item in the supermarket has money knocked off and Approved Food will see us make savings of 70% off versus supermarket prices!
They have over 2,900 cut price products up for grabs.
Products include big brands, cupboard fillers, ex-supermarket and department store products across a wide range of food, drinks, household and toiletries, gifts plus much more… all at huge, huge discounts.
Approved Food discount code March 2018
Exclusive to Skint Dad, use an Approved Food discount code
Before before and use by
Just to be clear up front – Approved Food is perfectly safe.
They sell food where the best before dates are close. Best before is about food quality, not food safety.
Use by date is for food that is perishable and will make you ill if you eat it past the date. Best before is fine to eat and if we ignored the date then a lot less food would be wasted.
We eat the food, our kids eat the food, we are all perfectly happy to and there is no adverse effect.
Read our full guide on best before and use by if you’re still unsure.
Shopping tips and what to look out for
Regular Approved Food customers save around £60 on their monthly shop versus high street supermarkets. Every penny helps and all that!
By saving £60 a month it works out at £700 a year in grocery shop savings! What would you do with that spare cash?!
Approved Food is not like a normal supermarket so there are some things it’s worth being aware of. Having spent hours trawling though pretty much every single item they’ve had for sale, I’ve learnt a thing or two 🙂
It sells fast
If you see something you want you need to get it then and there. Approved Food carry limited stock and when it’s gone, it’s gone.
If you’re slightly undecided you can add it to your basket. This way your items will be reserved for a while, but not forever.
You’ve got a reserve time of 30 minutes. This is extended if you’re actively shopping on the site.
You’ll only lose your reserved items if you move away from the site for more than 30 minutes.
Approved Foods 1p box
These boxes are – well – lucky. It’s a lucky dip and you’re just not going to know what you’ve got until it’s arrived.
In the past, Approved Food have sold lucky boxes for just 1p and other times they sell for just £1.
Either way, you get 10+ items from premium brands.
They are well worth keeping an eye out for.
Bargain alerts
There are a few products that are worthwhile keeping an eye on (like the lucky boxes). I don’t have time to be checking the site every day so, instead, I’ve set up a Bargain Alert with Approved Food.
You pick a key word and then they send you an email when an item with your search term becomes available.
This is great for when things go out of stock as you get to find out first when it’s ready to be bought again.
Fill up your box
Everything you order will get shipped in a box that can fit 25kg worth of stuff. If all you buy are sacks of potatoes then you won’t get a lot in a box, but if you just buy handbag sized packs of tissues and Tic-Tacs then you’re going to get loads!
As you place your order, you can see the weight of your box going up. Check in your basket from time to time if it helps (you also get a tally of how much you’re saving).
Make sure to keep an eye on this to hit the max weight (so you take full advantage of the delivery) and don’t go over unless you need to order a mammoth load.
Our Approved Food review
As avid money savers, there is no way we wouldn’t try Approved Food.
We’re like kids in a sweet shop when deliveries arrive.
The boxes are huge! And are well packed! I actually forget how much we order and then worry about where we’ll keep it all!
The food tastes perfectly fine. There is no way you could tell some of the items are past their best before date. In fact, for things like cleaning products there are no dates on them anyway.
I have to admit that I usually buy things that I wouldn’t if I’d go to the supermarket. However, prices are so cheap that I am still making an overall saving (they actually tell you how much you save as you shop). It works out quite nice for the kids to have a treat every now and then and has saved our skin a few times during summer breaks or times we decide to head out for picnics.
I don’t buy from Approved Food weekly as there isn’t enough to make up a full shop. However, it’s great to do a big shop about once a month to stock up on store cupboard foods and any treats that will cost an arm and a leg at the supermarket.
So, it’s more of a way to supplement your shopping habits, rather than a way to replace the supermarkets altogether.
Extra tip: don’t throw the box out! Our kids have great fun making massive space rockets. As well as keeping us fed, the kids have days of free entertainment!
P.S. Talking about the box, make sure to take a look on the bottom as you don’t want to miss the cheeky message 🙂
Approved Food discount code
While getting cheap food is great, it’s obviously even better if you can knock even more off the price!
Current Approved Food discount codes include:
Get free delivery when you spend over £50. Use the code AUTF-50 at checkout.
Want more Approve Food discount codes? We are looking to get more offers set up exclusively for Skint Dad readers and community members.
If you’re not already come and say hello to us in the Reduce You Supermarket Spend Facebook Community where we share the best tricks, tips and bargains to save on your grocery shop (including any new Approved Food discount codes!)
Naomi knows the burden of living on very little and became debt free by learning from past mistakes and following her own money saving tips and tricks.
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