Hungree for change
We’ve all been there—we’ve cooked up a delicious meal for dinner but have some leftovers that get stuffed into a Tupperware and shoved into the back of the fridge. We’ve had every intention of heating it up and finishing it off tomorrow, but inevitably, for one reason or another, we haven’t followed through, and those leftovers become forgotten until they become unrecognizable relics and have to be thrown out. Fortunately, John Akinboyewa ’06, MS ’10 has a solution to avoid that waste while offering a new way for us to connect with our communities.
That solution is a free app called TheHungreeApp. A user who wants to get rid of a food item—whether it’s leftovers or even an unused pantry staple nearing its expiration date—can post it on the app for another user to request and pick up. Users can share their food with the public within a small geographical area or they can create “villages” that confine their post to a specific group, such as a neighborhood, organization or college campus community. Restaurants and food banks can also join TheHungreeApp and cut down the amount of food that gets thrown away every day while fighting hunger. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.
“We’re addressing food waste. We’re addressing food insecurity, pollution, mental health and social isolation,” Akinboyewa said.
Akinboyewa was first inspired to find a solution to these social issues when he was a Mines student. He remembers digging in the couch for change to afford a meal off Taco Bell’s dollar menu while still having enough money in his account to pay his other bills at the time. He also knew it was likely that there was leftover pizza going to waste somewhere on campus and would just end up in the trash can at the end of the day. An idea like TheHungreeApp could help bridge that gap.
But TheHungreeApp’s mission extends beyond satisfying hunger and preventing food waste—it’s about fostering meaningful connections. Akinboyewa wanted to provide opportunities for users to form new relationships with their neighbors and feel more integrated into their communities without the social taboo that often comes with food insecurity and asking for help.
“It’s not a thrifting platform.” he said. “It’s a sharing platform.”
TheHungreeApp is ultimately a nonprofit aimed at building stronger communities, but Akinboyewa quickly realized that the technology and algorithms he was developing to create the best user experience needed to be supported with more robust funding.
“We realized we were coming up with algorithms that needed a lot more investment, and we wouldn’t get that with nonprofit grants,” he said.
He decided to turn the technology side of the app into a for-profit model that would allow TheHungreeApp to continue to grow and innovate on what they’ve already established. And if all goes to plan, Akinboyewa said they are in a “unique position to really develop something that five, 10 years from now becomes a mainstream part of society.”
He’s already on his way to making that dream a reality by opening the app up to global integration, with multilingual support and implementation in several countries beyond the United States.
“When we looked at what problems we’re trying to solve with the app, we realized it’s not an individual problem—it’s a humanity problem,” Akinboyewa said. “It works anywhere. It’s something any human being with a smartphone and internet can get on and share with their community instantly. That’s a powerful thing.”
Learn more about TheHungreeApp at thehungreeapp.com.
