CENTRE WELLINGTON – Grocery costs are soaring and Matthew Nicolini wants to do something about it.
So the Fergus resident is taking the knowledge he acquired working for Loblaws and adopted it locally.
And snap – he’s figured out a way to help families shave $5 from their weekly grocery bill.
It’s called Snap Foods and after three weeks going live, it’s gaining traction in the community.
Anyone interested can sign up for free online at snapfoods.ca/fergus and then on Thursday mornings at 8am, they get an email about what’s on offer and where to pick it up.
Participants can redeem the offer online and the food item is reserved for them. They have three days to pick it up.
But do it quickly, Nicolini advised.
“This morning we sold out in eight minutes,” he said on March 14.
He said Snap Foods has 15,000 subscribers but only 100 free food items to give away, so that is the catch. But as the program grows, he anticipates having more products to give away and more satisfied subscribers.
Currently the deal is a dozen brown eggs for free at Gerrie’s Farm Market in Elora but after Easter, butter will be the deal of the week. And he hopes to add other staples like milk and bread.
He also hopes to offer food at reduced costs – like 99 cents for a pound of butter or $2 for a bag of milk. Prices that take him back to his youth, he said.
Nicolini approaches local businesses for sponsorship. In return they get an advertisement on the Snap Foods website.
Crystal Dental in Fergus is the initial sponsor and has purchased the eggs thus far – 100 units a week. It is also offering senior dental discounts to Snap Foods members.
And so far, Gerrie’s is the official retail partner, but Nicolini is looking for other sponsors and partners as he hopes the concept will take off.
“Our mission is to offer high quality food at affordable prices,” he said. “We’re just trying to take a stab at that for now.”
The biggest challenge is getting sponsors.
“There’s value for the business – they grow their reach. And they become a local superhero,” Nicolini said.
“The value for the small grocer is that it increases store traffic and can reduce food waste.”
Tim Gerrie, owner of Gerrie’s Farm Market, said it’s been positive from his perspective as more customers have been in the store and some are making purchases in addition to picking up the free eggs.
He sees the day when he can offer other in-house deals to Snap Foods shoppers. When fruits and vegetables are in season, there will be opportunity for that, he added.
“People are excited to get something for free,” he said. “Overall, it’s been very positive.”
Fergus resident Rebecca Smeltzer said she learned about Snap Foods on Facebook and thought she’d give it a try.
She picked up a dozen free eggs from Gerrie’s on March 14 and swore she’d be back.
“I’ll do this weekly,” she said. “Five dollars is $5. And my family can certainly eat 12 eggs in a week.”
