Goodie Bag Review 2026: Surplus Food Bags for $6 to $10
Goodie Bag sells local restaurants' and bakeries' unsold food at the end of the day, mostly for $6 to $10 a bag, and you pick it up yourself.
Every shop on Goodie Bag is independent, and you collect your bag in person during a window the shop sets. Nothing is delivered.
TopDown ReviewsCheap food from local shops, if you live near them
Goodie Bag is a free iPhone and Android app for buying food that independent restaurants, bakeries, cafes and grocers didn't sell that day. Shops post it as "goodie bags," you reserve one in the app, and you collect it during the pickup window the shop sets. There's no delivery and no chains. It runs along Colorado's Front Range and in Charlotte, Charleston, Madison and Milwaukee.
There are two kinds of bag. A surplus bag holds whatever the shop has left, at the steepest discount, and is usually a surprise. A deal bag is made fresh or to order at a smaller discount, and more often says what's in it. Goodie Bag's FAQ puts most bags at about 67% off the normal price, which in practice is $6 to $10. A $9 bag at that rate holds roughly $27 of food.
Goodie Bag quotes its discount three ways. The App Store listing says "up to 80% off," the FAQ says "around 67%," and the blog says "50% or more." The FAQ's $6 to $10 range is the best guide to what you'll pay, and published examples of real bags land inside it.
The app holds a 4.6 rating from about 200 App Store ratings, but the written reviews are split almost down the middle: of the 88 in Apple's review feed, 42 give one or two stars. The complaints repeat. Alerts arrive for every shop in the area, even after people pick favorites. People outside its cities sign up and find nothing. Some describe driving to a shop and finding the order cancelled or the shop closed. The five-star reviews mostly say the same thing as each other too: it's a cheap way to try places they'd never been.
If you live in one of its cities and can get to shops around closing time, it's an easy way to eat well for under $10 and to try new places. If you need to know exactly what you're getting, the surprise bags will frustrate you, and deal bags more often say what's inside. For allergies, ask the shop before you buy either kind.
Why We Love It
- Most bags cost $6 to $10, about a third of the food's normal price
- Only independent shops, so it's a cheap way to try new local places
- Free to download and browse, with no subscription
- Full refund if you cancel within 10 minutes of ordering
- Deal bags are made fresh and often list what's inside
Considerations
- Only in Colorado's Front Range, Charlotte, Charleston, Madison and Milwaukee
- Pickup only, during a window the shop sets
- Surplus bags are a surprise, with no ingredient list for allergies
- Some 2025 reviewers say the sign-up text code never arrived
- Reviewers say alerts come from every shop nearby, even after choosing favorites
How a Goodie Bag order works
Open the app and it lists the bags posted by shops near you, each with a price and a pickup window, often late afternoon or around closing. Bags are limited, so Goodie Bag pushes you to turn on notifications and grab one when it drops. Reserve it, pay in the app, then go to the shop during the window and show the order page at the counter.
What you get varies even between two locations of the same shop, and Goodie Bag says so in its FAQ. A bakery's surplus bag might be a box of donuts or a loaf and some pastries. A restaurant's deal bag is closer to a discounted meal. If a dish has to avoid an allergen, Goodie Bag tells you to ask a manager at that shop before you buy, because the app doesn't carry ingredient information for mystery bags.
Cancel inside 10 minutes
Goodie Bag refunds in full if you cancel within 10 minutes of ordering. After that, its FAQ says you'll get $1.00 back, so cancelling a $9 bag late costs you $8. If the shop sells the bag to someone else, you get the whole price back.
We Recommend This To Readers Who:
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Live in one of its five areas
Browse the listings before you sign up and make sure shops near you actually post bags.
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Can collect around closing time
Most pickup windows sit late in the day, and the bag doesn't come to you.
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Like trying new places
Every shop is independent, and a $6 to $10 bag is a low-stakes first visit.
The two kinds of goodie bag
Every listing is one of these, and the difference is how much you know before you pay.
Surplus bag
Whatever the shop didn't sell that day, at the deepest discount. Usually a surprise.
Deal bag
Made fresh or to order, at a smaller discount. More often says what's inside.
What a Goodie Bag costs
Each shop sets its own prices. The bag ranges come from Goodie Bag's FAQ, and the $1 credit is what members report.
| Option | Price |
|---|---|
| Most bagsPopular | $6 to $10 |
| The same food at the shop's normal prices | $18 to $30 |
| Credit for joining with a member's referral code | $1 |
Good to Know
Goodie Bag questions, answered
What people ask before downloading, answered from Goodie Bag's own FAQ and app listing.
Is Goodie Bag legit?
Yes. The bags are sold and handed over by real local shops, and you pay in the app. Most complaints in its reviews are about notifications, sign-up glitches and limited coverage rather than about money.
Where is Goodie Bag available?
Colorado's Front Range (Denver, Boulder, Longmont, Fort Collins and Colorado Springs), Charlotte, Charleston, Madison and Milwaukee. It announced Nashville and Memphis in February 2025, but neither appears on its current list, so check the app if you live there.
How is Goodie Bag different from Too Good To Go?
They work the same way: reserve a discounted bag of unsold food in the app and pick it up. Too Good To Go is much bigger, includes chains like Whole Foods, and is the one to try if Goodie Bag isn't in your city. Goodie Bag only takes independent shops, so where both run, it's the one for local bakeries and restaurants.
Is there a Goodie Bag referral code?
Yes. New members who enter a member's code at sign-up start with 100 credits, which members report as $1. Ours, with how to use it, is at couponsuck.com/goodie-bag-referral-code/.
What if the shop cancels my order?
You get your money back. One reviewer whose order was cancelled as they pulled in says the refund came automatically. Another says it took four requests. One more found the shop closed during the pickup window, so if it's a long drive, check the shop's hours before you go.
Should you download Goodie Bag?
Yes, if you live in one of its five areas and can get to shops near closing time. Most bags cost $6 to $10 for about three times that in food, and every shop is a local one. Turn notifications on, expect a lot of them, and pick deal bags over surprise bags if you need to know what's inside.
