The reasons that some people abstain from social media? It’s a time suck; it jeopardizes your privacy; it’s filled with superficial flotsam (such as people posting pictures of what they’re eating for dinner).
But the new mobile app Feedie, which was developed by the nonprofit The Lunchbox Fund, is turning an activity that might be considered frivolous into a new way to spread generosity. How so?
Every time a user takes a photo of a meal at a participating restaurant and shares it with his or her social network through the app, Feedie donates 25 cents to The Lunchbox Fund, which provides a daily meal for orphaned and disadvantaged school children in South Africa.
The Lunchbox Fund founder Topaz Page-Green explained the level of poverty in South Africa to Patrica Dao of Take Part: “There were children sitting away from the other kids at break under some trees,” she said, “and when I asked why children sat separately from the others during break, the teacher mentioned they had nothing to eat and didn’t want to see the kids who had food eating.”
Restaurants across the United States have signed on to participate — from Los Angeles to San Antonio and Miami Beach to Atlantic City. The app lets users know how many meals have been shared at each location; so far more than 12 million meals have been shared using it.
With the market for food-sharing being as huge as it is — Dao notes that “on Instagram alone, more than 20 million photos are hashtagged #foodporn” — converting virtual sharing into giving is bound to make a huge difference in the lives of those with empty stomachs.
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