More than 65% of Americans eat out once a week. In SA, more than 65% of children live below the poverty line.
The Feedie app allows users who take photos of their food to share actual food with those who need it. The platform turns food photos into donations for The Lunchbox Fund, a non-profit organisation that provides daily meals to extremely poor and at-risk schoolchildren in SA.
To become a feedie, users need only sign up before visiting a participating restaurant and sharing photos of their meals online. The shared photos advertise the restaurant, while encouraging others to become feedies. For each photo shared, the restaurant will make a donation to The Lunchbox Fund.
More than 12 million meals have been provided through donations since the app was unveiled at the end of last year. According to Sue Wildish, MD of The Lunchbox Fund, the response has been incredible. She describes Feedie as an innovative, relevant platform that makes it easier for people using social media and technology to do good things.
For Topaz Page-Green, founder of The Lunchbox Fund, the app creates a wonderful symmetry between tech and philanthropy. "It also nourishes the users of the app by giving them the opportunity to do something incredibly positive."
During the app's development, Page-Green partnered with prominent US chef and restaurateur, Mario Batali, who believes the idea has the potential to impact the lives of countless children in SA and across the globe. Batali is now on a mission to recruit as many restaurants as possible.
About 100 restaurants currently participate in the initiative, most of which are in New York City, but Page-Green is confident the platform will receive more support. "What is so wonderful about Feedie is that it's not limited by any geographical boundaries," she says.
The Feedie app is available for download from the Apple App Store at no cost. An Android version of the app is also on the cards.
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