Food Donation App

An app that allows individuals or businesses in the food industry to donate leftover food directly to charities/NGOs.

The solution is an app, which both charities and restaurants/hotels/groups have. When a business has surplus, unserved food, they can go to the app, and will find a list of charities and organizations with branches/volunteers near them. They can them choose which organization they would like to donate to. 

The volunteers of the chosen- the ones nearby- will get notifications through the app (they would need their own accounts on the app). They can pick up the food and distribute it to those nearby who need it, using their pre-developed extensive networks and connections.

This will help build the gap between organizations and groups that work to combat hunger, and businesses that have more of it that they know what to do with. They will be a quick mode of communication between the two parties, and they will both benefit from it- charities will have greater resources, and hotels/restaurants will stop contributing to food wastage, and can build their reputation as a more sustainable business.  

The general problems I wish to solve are food wastage and hunger. Specifically, the wastage of surplus food that businesses in the food industry often find themselves having to deal with. Most of these hotels/restaurants, especially in India, tend to throw this food away, or leave it out for stray animals to eat. It takes more effort to search out an organization that accepts food donations, or routinely find people who need the food and give it to them directly. And most are unwilling to go the extra mile and establish a long-term system of food donating, on the occasion of leftovers.

The other issue this app tackles is hunger. More than enough food is produced globally to feed everyone around the world, but around 811 million people still go hungry everyday. This highlights a lack of proper distribution of the food produced. This is, of course, because some people cannot earn enough to feed themselves and their family. But one-third of the food produced annually- approximately 1.3 billion tonnes- gets lost or wasted. There must be a way for the food to reach those who desperately need it. 

The app will bridge the gap between those who have surplus food, and those who lack food. 

Many organizations and charities around the world are striving to provide 3 square meals a day to the poor, but have limited reach, or lack of resources. If everyone gets involved in the initiative, even businesses who have food to spare, more people can benefit. My community alone employs at least a hundred such housemaids, cooks, drivers, etc., who work all day, everyday, and still don't earn enough for two full meals. And even they are among the more fortunate people of the lower class. The food donated through the app will be picked up through food banks and food rescue organizations, who already have extensive networks of people they can help. 

Food will reach the lower class population- maids, housekeepers, cleaning staff, farmers, the unemployed- everyone these organizations can reach.

Millions of people all over the world stand to benefit. Businesses could prevent their dishes, vegetables, and fruits from being thrown away, and more people could go to bed on a fuller stomach.

So far, I have researched about and looked into an organization working on food-donation social service, and tried to get an understanding of their model of distribution, and their food sources. The Robin Hood Army takes no funds, and functions purely on the goodwill of volunteers. It has a project very similar to the app's idea, but on a smaller scale in their communities-they work to get surplus food from restaurants and the community to serve less fortunate people. They serve homeless families, orphanages, patients from public hospitals, and old age homes.

I have also talked to the management staff of my apartment- a few maids, and an ironer. Sometimes, after meals, my family and I'd have some prepared, untouched food left over in the pot, and we would give this to the maids who often maintained the elevators and passageways near our flat. They would say that the food could feed their family for one meal.

My solution focuses on reducing food wastage by businesses in the food production industry. It gives them a medium to communicate with NGOs, food banks, food rescue organizations, etc., who can put the leftover food, fruits, and vegetables to good use. 

This app is a significant step in eradicating large-scale food wastage and hunger in communities. This can coordinate food donors and donees, and help develop a steady supply of food to the hungry. 

This can also encourage groups to start donating food, or donate more of it more often. The process can now happen with no extra effort from their side, as the pickup and dropoff will be done by the organization.

To date, I have reached out to a person who has experience and a job in the social service field. She is an Education, Child Rights & Gender Specialist, and works for an NGO. She advised me on how best to use the Exploratory Microgrant that I had been given, and how to go connect with NGOs and restaurants/hotels, and get them to back up the app. 

She knew a person from the NGO World Food Program, and I will be interviewing her as well. I have also created a google survey meant for restaurants and restaurants and hotels, to get an insight into how they manage their leftovers. 

Like I had mentioned before, I have looked into the Robin Hood Army's functions and model, and tried understanding the problems of my target population on a deeper level.

The solution is an app. It will be used by users through their phones rather than the web. This will be built through the programming language Java. So the solution is software and digital, and makes use of advanced, relatively new technology.

My solution hasn't been launched yet, as I am still building partnerships and connections with businesses and organizations. The number of people served depends on the organization's reach and resources, ad they will be the ones in charge of food distribution. I expect, by next year, for the solution to serve around 200 people. I shall have around 5 organizations who will send people to pick up and drop off food to those who need it. I think I will also have at least 7 restaurants backing up the app, regularly donating food, fruits, and vegetables.

My goals are to significantly reduce food wastage in the food production industry. Instead of going to landfills, food can reach those who need it, preventing the money and time spent to make the food from getting wasted. The food can fill empty stomachs, lessen hunger for thousands of people in India, and even around the world, if scaled properly. 

I will achieve this by, first, getting businesses and organizations engaged with the idea, and earn their support and partnership. I will then build a prototype of the app with the help of an app developer. This will be beta tested multiple times with a select group of people, internalizing feedback from the users each time. This process will evaluate product performance of the app in the real world. 

The app will then be launched and be visible to the public. I will try to have around 5 organizations' and 7 businesses' collaboration by then. 

I will measure progress, at this stage in development, by making connections with businesses and organizations and seeing how many of them I can partner with. 

I might face legal barriers as I move forward with my solution. A reason some restaurants/hotels hesitate to donate food to organizations or banks is the liability they might face. If someone gets sick or worse eating the food provided by the business, it will be thought of as spoiled, and the business could land in serious trouble- that alone is a solid reason for them to get sued. And in some states or cities, it is illegal to feed homeless, poor people, and doing so actually has serious repercussions. 

I could also face issue with scaling the app and involving a diverse set of groups, for even impact. I would need capable people managing the deliveries in different locations, and it might be difficult to find the right person who can capably supervise such things.

I am qualified for the HP Girls Save the World Prize, as I am a girl and am 15 years old. Hunger is one of the biggest sustainability issues, with food waste being directly linked to it. The Girls Save the World program will be incredibly helpful for me to get guidance on how to move forward with the solution, and how to best go about implementing it. I truly believe this solution has immense potential, and the program can give me the right kind of exposure to develop my thinking about sustainability issues.

The $40,000 will be incredibly useful as well. As there is no set revenue-generating system in place for financial stability at the moment, I will need the money to build the app and maintain it, for staff and skilled developers and marketing people, for travel expenses, etc.

I am qualified for the The Pozen Social Innovation Prize. There are more poor women than men around the world. They face a much greater risk of poverty- and therefore, hunger- than men. They are paid less than men, have to look harder for employment. So poor single women go hungry often, and a steady supply of food could help them solve one of their primary needs for themselves and their family. 

The $80,000 will be very useful for the reasons I had listed above. I will need the money to build the app and maintain it, for staff and skilled developers and marketing people, for travel expenses, etc.