When we think of hunger epidemics, America isn't the country that jumps to mind. Instead, we conjure up images of desert landscapes and grayscale villages.
If we think of America at all when we think of world hunger, it's usually a guilty comparison of global food shortage statistics with our own rampant obesity rates. The rest of the world doesn't have enough food to eat, but in America we eat so much that 70% of us will face health complications from being overweight. Can you say first world problems?
But the issue remains a confounding one: Why are well-fed Americans so hungry? A mind-boggling 46 million people struggle with hunger in America every night--what accounts for the stark contrast between the opportunity and disadvantage experienced by America's wealthy and poor? And more importantly, how do we effectively address it?
One Baltimore technology startup has a plan.
Full Society is creating restaurant bill-pay software that enables restaurant goers to settle their bill at the end of the night using just their mobile phone: no more waiting for the check.
The sun is out and it's time to make some dinner reservations! There's an app coming out soon that'll help shorten that wait time *winkwink*
— Full Society (@full_society) January 27, 2015So what does this company have to do with hunger in America? Full Society is pledging to provide a meal to someone in need for every table who pays through the app. The tech company is empowered to do this by the combined generosity of its users, who are given the option to round up their bill to the nearest dollar or donate a meal at the end of the bill pay process.
"It only costs about $1.50 to feed a person who would otherwise go hungry," says Lauren Cantlin, one of the founding members of Full Society. "It's common practice to tip waiters 20% of our meal – we do it without even thinking about it – we just calculate the cost of our meal to include the cost of tip. What if feeding the hungry in America was as easy and second nature a custom as the practice of tipping? What would our country look like then?"
And how does the tech company plan to manage feeding the hungry in America while also running a successful technology enterprise? The CEO Paige Cantlin has the answer: "We are not in food-distribution, and we are not a non-profit," she says. "But we have a mission to feed our country, and so we partner with local non-profits and direct the donations raised through the app to them to distribute meals."
"It’s obvious that there's a hunger problem in the US," adds Lauren Cantlin, "Among the 46 million people who don't have access to food–healthy food–because of poverty and disadvantage. But there's something about America that gets associated with another kind of hunger, a kind of insatiability. I think that's because we are consuming the wrong things. We won't ever really feel full unless we feel like we're helping each other. That's what ultimately makes people thrive and feel fulfilled."
This article was provided by Full Society. Their app will be available in the Apple app store in the Fall of 2015.