Photos of food help feed needy children

ABU DHABI // Taking photographs of your food might be one of the most annoying things someone can do in a restaurant, but thanks to a new smartphone app diners can use their snaps to help feed needy or orphaned children.

Each time you post a picture of your meal at a participating restaurant on social media using the Feedie app, the restaurant will donate one meal to starving children in South Africa.

The app has been created by the Lunchbox Fund, a not-for-profit organisation that provides food for hungry children in South Africa.

Free to download, the app is simple to use and only requires the user’s phone be connected to a social media channel, like Facebook or Twitter.

Once a photograph is taken a specifically designed filter can be added, similar to the functionality of picture blogging site Instagram. Like Instagram, it also enables you to follow other users and view their pictures.

So far only the Media One Hotel in Dubai has answered the call from the charity. “Media One Hotel is delighted to be part of this great initiative and is looking forward to seeing food photos transformed into daily donations for hungry school kids,” said Mark Lee, general manager of Media One.

“It is amazing that such a simple app has already generated over 12 million meals in South Africa. I see hundreds of social media photos of food and now they can be put to good use without the customer spending any extra money.

“The app is a great example of how easy it can be nowadays to change the world with a big idea and today’s technology.”

To sign up to the scheme, restaurants agree to donate less than dirham photograph shared, which is enough to provide one meal for one child. The charity aims to provide one free meal a day to thousands of children across South Africa.

“The principle behind the app is that people naturally love taking pictures of their meals and to do something good at the same time is appealing,” said Topaz Page-Green, founder of the Lunchbox Fund.

To download the app or find out more about the charity, visit www.thelunchboxfund.org