Thanks to a program called Hunger: Not Impossible (HNI), hungry people could have access to fresh, healthy food in their neighborhood by texting one simple word: Hungry. On one hand. people in charge of the program learn that each year 42 million Americans go hungry including 15. 9 million children. On the other hand, grocery stores, restaurants, and food providers throw out 60 million tons of unused food. HNI had a solution—connectivity.
HNI started fundraising and developing partnerships. Then they make plans with organizations and charities to help locate people who suffer from food insecurity. And they reached out to technical experts at Salesforce who developed an easy-to-use text-driven platform using a chat box. With all the elements in place, a simple text started the goodwill rolling.
When a needy person types in "Hungry" and sends the text message to HNI. they receive a message, back showing the closest locations that are offering free food. They also get a text displaying different menu options. They simply select a restaurant, choose the meal, then heads to the takeout counter where they pick up their free meal alongside paying customers. No questions are asked and dignity is preserved. The pilot project began in Venice Beach, California, providing over 250 meals to more than 50 youth in three weeks. HNI then grew to Bentonville. Arkansas, Klamath Falls Oregon? and St; Louis. Missouri.
"Providing food is the first step in transforming lives for the best." Michelle DiBattiste, operations and volunteer manager at Safe Place for Youth said in the press release, "By satisfying that initial survived instinct of finding food. Hunger: Not Impossible provides necessary space for personal growth, self-realization and finding stability. If there were less hungry people in the world, the crime rate would be reduced? there would be fewer homeless people, and the cost of healthcare would cut down. "
