There’s an app for that?!?
All About Feedie And How You Can Use Apps To Boost Your Charity or Ethical Business
This will either have affected you directly, or else you’ll have a friend, or a friend of a friend who’s been affected.
I’m talking about the epidemic of photographing food.
If you’re on Instagram, it can’t have passed you by; thousands of people just can’t seem to dig into a plate of food without first taking a photo of it, and then sharing their “foodies” with the world.
Slightly annoying and pointless… until…
Let me tell you about this great non-profit organisation called The Lunchbox Fund
They’re dedicated to providing daily meals for orphaned and vulnerable children in South Africa.
Now, the clever people at The Lunchbox Fund noticed the endemic of food photos on the web, and thought: ‘wouldn’t it be so great if each time someone posted a ‘foodie’ online, a starving child in Africa would get to eat it?’
And they made it happen: They created an app called Feedie.
How does Feedie Work?
It’s simple.
You just download the Feedie app from the Apple App Store (they’re not on Android yet) and sign in through one of your social media sites.
A map showing all the nearby restaurants involved with Feedie will appear (it’s is only in New York City for now, but they’re only just getting started!)
Head out to one of the restaurants, snap photos of your meal, and share it online. For each photo you post, the restaurant will donate the equivalent of one meal to The Lunchbox Fund for the children in South Africa.
The restaurants, of course, get bigged up by photos of their meals being posted all over the web, so it’s win-win.
They have the support of celebrity chef Mario Batali and he’s managed to get some of the best places in NYC involved with the project.
Why does Feedie work/what can I learn from them?
Well, the Lunchbox Fund people have clearly cottoned on to how much charitable potential there is in social media and technology.
They’ve tapped into a phenomenon that already existed. They saw the madness of ‘foodies’ all over the web, and realised that they could use that madness to spread their cause.
The project is fun and can involve anybody with a smartphone.
It allows people to connect with each other, donate to charity and feel good about helping out a great cause while enjoying themselves.
The message is clear and simple (make sure you watch their brilliant animated video)
Why should I use an app to boost my charity or ethical business?
They’re not as complicated to set up as you might think. A quick search online and you’ll find a whole bunch of tutorials, and even companies who will do it for you.
They’re the perfect tool for campaigning and online fundraising.
The main reason: with apps, the world really is your oyster.
As Topaz Page-Green, founder of The Lunchbox Fund, said in an interview with ABC News,
“What is so wonderful about Feedie is that its not limited by any geographical boundaries.”
Feedie could go global!
The Feedie website says that over 65% of Americans eat out once a week. That’s a lot of photos…
Just think how many children that could feed.
