Feedie, a new free application for smartphones, lets users benefit charity by taking pictures of food.
Currently available only to iPhone users but “coming soon” to Android, the app was created by the Lunchbox Fund. Restaurants sign up to participate in the program, and when Feedie users visit a participating restaurant they can take a pictures of their meals to share through social media such as Twitter and Facebook. For every shared photo of its fare, the participating restaurant donates a meal to the Lunchbox Fund, which feeds orphans and schoolchildren who are at risk in South Africa.
Dozens of restaurants are participating, and many people have already shared pictures of their meals using the hashtag “#Feedie.”
A non-profit organization, The Lunchbox Fund provides 240,000 meals annually to children who live in areas that are struggling with malnutrition and the AIDS epidemic. The nourishment provided by donated meals helps students stay focused in school.
“I think that it is a good program for a wonderful cause,” said one anonymous freshman at Harvard Westlake. “This app is really unique and creative. It takes two things that I like, food and social media, and uses them to help out other people in need. People should spread the word, as I will definitely be downloading this app.”
Though its website says that it has plans to expand, most of the restaurants currently participating in Feedie are located in New York. However, supporters in Southern California can visit local affiliates like the Standard Hotels and Larchmont’s Cafe Gratitude. Angelenos can also directly help the Lunchbox Fund by donating $10 to sponsor a child for a month or $100 dollars to sponsor a child for an entire year. For more information, visit http://thelunchboxfund.org/.
