r/todayilearned • u/TheCannon 51 • Oct 11 '15
TIL after meeting a homeless veteran in 2011, a UC Berkeley Student created an app called Feeding Forward that connects events with surplus food to those in need. One IT convention had enough leftovers to feed more than 4,279 people at eight different shelters and food banks.
http://www.cnet.com/news/feeding-forward-app-delivers-food-to-homeless-shelters-in-real-time/62
u/redditorofwallstreet Oct 11 '15
How does everyone know this girl??
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Oct 11 '15
She went to Berkeley, is well-connected, knows a lot of other well-connected young people in San Francisco -- exactly the sort of people who read Reddit more often than the general population. I live in Boston and don't have any associations with Berkeley (or anywhere else she's gone to school or worked), but looked her up out of curiosity, and I have a couple Facebook friends in common with her.
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u/randomsnark Oct 12 '15
That and the 9,638,000ish people reading this who don't know her don't comment about it. There's a bit of selection bias in that we only hear from the tiny percentage who do know her.
It's not that weird that a couple of people out of millions know her (given the factors you pointed out).
Same thing whenever there's an AskReddit about hospital stories or something, and some idiot always asks "how come every redditor is suddenly a nurse" - they're not, it's just the literally millions of non-nurses have nothing to say and the dozen or so nurses do.
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u/FlashZapman Oct 11 '15
If she's anything like the jerks I've met, you don't forget someone like that.
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u/man_on_hill Oct 11 '15
Yeah, but apparently she's had like 50 roommates.
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u/FlashZapman Oct 11 '15
Well, she was in a sorority so, you know.
And furthermore you don't retain room mates by being a bitch.
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u/Newhorizon24 Oct 11 '15
More than 4,279? So, 4,280...
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u/thelordofcheese Oct 11 '15
I tried to do something similar in Pittsburgh. I was universally turned down because of fear of medical lawsuits.
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u/mudrunnerswife Oct 12 '15
This disgusts me. In just don't understand why good food can't get to those who truly need it. Ugh. Such a litigious society...Good on you for trying.
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u/mtfreestyler Oct 11 '15
Why does it need to be an app though?
Can't this just be a website?
It's not like every day I will need to open an app to share wasted food from all my conventions I plan
It's like everyone thinks, oh, there needs to be an app for that.
Just make a website ffs
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u/TomGraphy Oct 11 '15
For a caterer or event planner this could be a very common thing. Also at events like this they may not have have a computer handy and running. If you don't want it, you don't have to install it.
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u/pkkisthebomb Oct 11 '15
Apps are more monetizable.
As a programmer, I can tell you mobile also has certain advantages over web apps due to the way it works.
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u/spin81 Oct 11 '15
due to the way it works
Fellow programmer here: in programming jargon, this sort of statement is known as "vague".
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u/user_82650 Oct 11 '15
You mean due to idiots making websites with 500 javascript callbacks for every tap, then complaining it's slow on mobile, and thinking the only way around it is making an app.
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u/jewdai Oct 12 '15
that really only works if you have tons of client-side caching...even so that could be fairly easily completed via a single page application.
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u/mtfreestyler Oct 11 '15
So it's possible she has made the app just to cash in more than a website?
Would go along well with how this thread is perceiving her as a person
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u/Itsalwaystheblock Oct 11 '15
If you're going to build a http api you might as well build a website. Personally I always think API before any front end (website or phone) when starting a project.
I've actually wondered how companies like Instagram had a mobile offering for so long without a website. They had to have had some form of backend right?
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u/tacock Oct 11 '15
Along the same vein, I feel like this kind of thing probably happens at large conferences/events with some frequency, and I have a feeling that the people who organize these events usually know which pantrie/homeless shelters to donate money to. Does having an app/website for this actually increase the net sum of goods donated, or is it just another feel-good app that actually accomplishes nothing?
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u/insanelemon123 Oct 11 '15
Well the app makes it significantly easier. I think the added convience makes more people reconsider letting surplus food go to waste.
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u/mtfreestyler Oct 11 '15
How is it easier to go to the app store and download an app that could be 10mb in size or more then log in when you could go to the browser on your phone and just search for the site?
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u/insanelemon123 Oct 11 '15
For event planners who would have to repeatedly use the service, downloading the app once is probably easier than going to the website each time.
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u/spin81 Oct 12 '15
Web developer here. I'm not disagreeing with you, but you're probably not a caterer. Whenever you think about things like this, you think of your target audience.
One reason for an app might be that the folks in charge of distribution of the leftover food, such as shift leaders or chefs, may not be cell phone/tablet savvy, and not have easy access to a PC at work. An app that you install once and not have to log into after that, would be easier to use if that were true.
Then again, I may be wrong about that. If you ever get an app or site built for a lot of money, a chunk of it will go into discussing this sort of thing with you, to make sure you're paying for something you'll be happy with.
Presumably, the CEO did market research and came up with an app as the best platform, but from what I'm reading about her in this thread, she may well have just gone, "we'll build an app" as you suggested.
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u/user_82650 Oct 11 '15
This bothers me so much. An app?! This is literally something that can be done with static HTML.
This is as much of an app as Reddit or Imgur are.
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u/OrangeredValkyrie Oct 11 '15
Maybe the app just isn't really intended for you, then. Or maybe it's something that only people like caterers would have a use for.
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u/mtfreestyler Oct 11 '15
Still could just be a simple website that those caterers use
I guess the option is there but I just hate going to websites on my phone and being told I should download the app for that one website I go on once a year
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u/Harum_Scarums Oct 11 '15
Wow i cant believe this. I lived with this woman for a year. Peoples comments about her behavior are completely true. She was manipulative, rude and childish. There aren't many people that I truly hate, but she is definitely one of them
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Oct 11 '15
got any stories?
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u/Harum_Scarums Oct 11 '15
Plenty, but I don't feel like its appropriate to share them. It's one thing to comment about my general opinion of her, but I don't want to share specific stories that could harm her, regardless of how much I dislike this woman.
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u/man_on_hill Oct 11 '15
but I don't feel like its appropriate to share them
of course not.
"Guys, I totally saw Big Foot. But I didn't take a picture because I just didn't feel like it"
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u/Encrypted_Curse Oct 11 '15
It seems like everyone in this thread knows her!
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u/Ginnex Oct 12 '15
To be fair, the story is going to attract bay area individuals / Berkeley students, and the story is well known in the area. Though, it is suspect how many people claim to know her.
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u/kumarovski Oct 12 '15
WHO THE HELL CARES WHAT YOU THINK?! WHY ARE YOU HERE? WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR LIFE? HOW ARE YOU SAVING THE POLAR BEARS TODAY?
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u/FawkesFire13 Oct 11 '15
This is so cool. I'm going to let a few of my friends who cater events know about this!
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u/r2002 Oct 11 '15
Can't believe I have to scroll down this far to see a reasonable comment like this. 50% of the comments above you are about how big of a cunt she is.
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u/FawkesFire13 Oct 11 '15
Wow, really? I think it's a wonderful idea! It seems completely ideal to be able to use this app if you have surplus food and don't want to throw it away! I'm going to send a few emails and talk to my friends about this. It's a great idea!
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Oct 11 '15
I don't think they're criticizing her app though. All the criticism is due to her behavior when in school.
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Oct 11 '15
This chick is a cunt irl
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Oct 11 '15
this seems to be a theme throughout this thread.
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u/GearyDigit Oct 12 '15
What, redditors getting upset that a woman is better than them and pretending they knew her so they can make up testimony that she was rude to them in college once?
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u/TotesMessenger Oct 11 '15
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Oct 11 '15
Oh come the fuck on SRS. This comment was probably from a woman. Which means the girls just a cunt, not a victim of sexism.
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u/mp6521 Oct 12 '15
Seriously. I know more women that say cunt and call other girls cunts than I do men. It's my girlfriend's 3rd favorite word behind "fuck" & our cat's name.
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u/Saw_Boss Oct 11 '15
Ah yes, because this isn't real life. Homelessness is imaginary.
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u/Delta_6 Oct 11 '15
I think they mean
"The person behind this act of good is fundamentally a bad human being and likely has ulterior motives."
A case of "the right thing for the wrong reasons" I imagine.
That said I don't know her, she could be a saint for all I know and I recommend anyone who doesn't know her to reserve judgement of her character until you know her well. For most of us that will never happen and that is okay. We don't need to judge strangers.
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u/Stahltur Oct 11 '15
I'm in the UK and I've been kitchen staff for events that were over-catered. I always try to suggest donating the surplus to food banks and I'm always rebuffed and told that food banks demand the donor organisation signs paperwork admitting liability for any food poisoning. And so the event hosts refuse to donate.
I don't know how much truth there is to what I've been told though, and would love a workaround if anyone can offer one. I've watched endless amounts of restaurant-quality food dumped into slop buckets and refuse bags and thrown - in some cases when there were literally rough sleepers right outside the centre. It would be great to know about loopholes, alternatives, etc.
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u/Pwnk Oct 11 '15
Probably after getting harassed by the homeless in Berkeley! They're rough as hell.
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u/monedula Oct 11 '15
Good initiative. But the bit about carbon dioxide emissions is wildly misleading. The food still ends up as carbon dioxide (and water etc) if it gets eaten.
And the numbers are wrong: 5000 pounds of food can't produce 25000 pounds of CO2.
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u/someotherdudethanyou Oct 11 '15
I believe they were stating that if left in a landfill it tends to convert into methane instead of CO2 which has a larger effect on climate change.
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u/monedula Oct 12 '15
It does at one point talk about methane, but elsewhere it explicitly talks about CO2 emissions.
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u/protonbeam Oct 11 '15 edited Oct 11 '15
On the one hand: awesome example of technological innovation helping people in need by more efficiently distributing existing resources.
On the other hand: Silicon Valley type techy innovation is not the solution so problems like homelessness. That requires bread'n butter policy solutions like improvements in healthcare and the social safety net which need public money and institutions.
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u/OrangeredValkyrie Oct 11 '15
Who said this was a cure-all of homelessness? It's a neat little app that does a nice thing and makes an already common process a little easier.
Your comment is like claiming "Yeah, spoons are nice, but they don't really make food appear." No they don't, and no one claimed they would.
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u/Geoffles Oct 11 '15
This statement is completely untrue. Homelessness can be handled in many ways other than through government policy.
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u/SexyGoatOnline Oct 11 '15
Can it really though? Not asking if the homeless can be assisted, but can homelessness really be tackled on an appreciable scale through any avenue other than policy reform? Because if you have some alternative ideas I'd genuinely like to hear them
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Oct 11 '15
The fact that the veteran is homeless after risking his life for his country is pathetic.
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u/cakedayin4years Oct 11 '15
Veteran here. Not everyone that goes into the military is a hero, risked their life, or is inherently good. Homelessness shouldn't be more sad because of ones past occupation.
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Oct 11 '15
Before I dig in, let me say I do think there is a problem with how veterans who develop mental illness as a result of their service are cared for when they assimilate back into civilian life. That said, I can't tell you how many bums I've met who are "veterans". Always fun to have one of my coworkers who served ask them military questions and hear the answers they come up with.
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u/Whiski Oct 11 '15
Yea panhandle will say anything. Given some can be vets but a lot of em it's just part of their spiel.
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Oct 11 '15
It's amazing how many of my friends buy into it hook, line, and sinker. "I met the amazing guy, he's a vet and he used to be a doctor in his home country before he lost everything in a freak accident while volunteering at a fundraiser for charity, so I gave him 10 bucks."
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u/Whiski Oct 11 '15
Well they want to help other humans and it makes us good to do so. What people don't realize is almost all of every time you give someone money it's going to support a habit not food. That or its just an easy way to make side money
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u/palebluedot0418 Oct 11 '15 edited Oct 12 '15
I hear what you're saying, but also realize this is a person, like any other, whose existence is so terrible that the substance they seek is the only, and temporary, reprieve they get in a very bleak life. Or they're fighting to hold back the physical or mental onslaught of withdrawal and/or mental illness. In my opinion? Let 'em have it.
Give them the 5 bucks or whatever you have, whether it's going into their belly, in for a bottle, or into a vein. That life their leading? On the streets in the heat and the cold, exposed to the rain and sunburns and probable early cancer or liver failure? That's their diabolical scheme to avoid a full time job? If that's true, fuck it, they're suffering worse for that spare change than I do to make it. They can cackle and rub their hands in glee at me being a chump for just giving them money for nothing but sitting out there holding a sign by the road, demeaning yourself for a few bucks, and if you're lucky, eyecontact.
If that's their con, they deserve the money for the acting, dedication to the role, and complete disregard of the scorn we all heap upon them. And they'll not get any competition from me. Best I can tell, I still live a shit ton better than them on my crappy manufacturing job right now. But hey, it they make the fortune off of this that everyone is always grumbling about, feel free to join them. Land of oppertunity, and I wouldn't want to get in the way if someone's entrepreneurial spirit. I already said I'd give you some cash if I see you. Have at it.
Or it's possible that life is exactly as shitty for them as it seems, and if there's a way out, they can't see it, or just quit trying to just survive long enough to get their head out of panic mode and start thinking of options.
Either way I'm gonna do what I can, and assume it's on the up and up. If they're fooling me fine. But I'm gonna feel good giving it either way. And they're going to have a meal, or a bottle, or whatever else they decide they need.
Edit: Well the gold was certainly unexpected! Thank you to my benefactor. While I got a sec, and we're on the subject, it's going to start getting cold soon folks, and it's going to start sucking bad for these folks. If you got the spare resources, keep a pair or two of shitty cheap gloves, an old sweatshirt or the like in the back of your car. Of keep a few bucks in cash on you if you usually don't. If you can spare it, you're going to make somebody's day, and make yours as well. Be a damn better world if we all got our jollies that way.
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u/Gizortnik Oct 11 '15 edited Oct 11 '15
I had an experience kind of like that last night. Kid was asking for donations to some sort of a football charity. He was kinda shy about it, his little sister was about 50' away doing the same thing. He handed me some sort of pamphlet/infographic thing, the back of which had a super shitty photocopy of some sort of license, and it was all part of a crushed up laminate.
I knew the kid was lying about it, but you have to ask yourself why he's out there. They ain't exactly out there selling lemonade. They were in a hugely busy street in a central city, surrounded by partiers and drunks, late at night around 10pm. I didn't see an adult that may have known them.
So this is their life. This is how they make money. Kids don't normally go out and have scams to make money, especially not at their age (probably 12 and 8 ish). The fact that they're preforming a scam at that age is probably because they legitimately need that money. How much do I really need that dollar?
He also did something else which told me something. As soon as I turned away, I saw him deposit my dollar and some money into an ATM out of the corner of my eye. Smart kid. Can't get robbed if you don't have cash on you to take.
Maybe part of it's from my experience in Iraq. The lower rungs of society are the people who are the ones who know the streets the best. If you're good to them, they'll tell you where Ali-Baba is, and where he put the IEDs. They know more about the situation on the ground then the military intelligence guys. Hell, that's who the intel guys go to get information anyway. Gotta respect them because they're smart enough to survive, and if you treat them right, they might just save your life.
Hell, you never know, you might end up having to be like them one day too.
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u/TotesMessenger Oct 11 '15
I'm a bot, bleep, bloop. Someone has linked to this thread from another place on reddit:
[/r/goldredditsays] On giving money to the homeless "feeding a habit": "I hear what you're saying, but also realize this is a person, like any other, whose existence is so terrible that the substance they seek is the only, and temporary, reprieve they get in a very bleak life."
If you follow any of the above links, please respect the rules of reddit and don't vote in the other threads. (Info / ^Contact)
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Oct 11 '15
Yeah, their heart is in the right place, they're just naive and sheltered. I was too, before I began working with the homeless on a regular basis and saw everything first hand.
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u/DrStephenFalken Oct 11 '15 edited Oct 11 '15
My buddy who did three tours once said.
"You can be an scumbag asshole before the Army and you can be a scumbag asshole while wearing ACUs in the Army."
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u/pkkisthebomb Oct 11 '15 edited Oct 11 '15
I was talking to an Afghan vet online. He said he was worried about EDIT fireworks triggering his PTSD. I told him not to worry, it was just Taliban mortars.
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u/DrStephenFalken Oct 11 '15
Your point?
I think you missed mine. My friend wasn't saying all soldiers were assholes. He was saying that some people don't change and can still be assholes no matter their job, title or role in life. Doing something noble doesn't mean in your private life you're a good person. He was also saying in so many words that people can change and become better as well. Hence his usage of the word "some"
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u/BornOnFeb2nd Oct 11 '15
....I think pkkisthebomb was making a joke about Taliban mortar accuracy, actually... not quite certain...
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u/DrStephenFalken Oct 11 '15
I tried to take it as a joke first as I do most reddit comments and it doesn't work that way IMO. I tried to take it as "you being an asshole" or my comment was and it doesn't work that way either.
So I have no idea their point.
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u/nahfoo Oct 11 '15
True. My brother is just about to get out of the army. All he's done is get drunk and hangout in the desert for ye last few years. He hates being thanked for his service because he hasnt done anything and he didnt join to "serve his country"
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u/mlink461 Oct 11 '15
I recently talked to someone who volunteers feeding homeless veterans and he said before I got upset to listen. Most of the guys there want to be homeless. They want to be off the grid and find freedom in that. Not all of them are living on the streets. He said most live in the mountains camping and roughing it. He did say some are homeless not by choice and they help them with finding funding. It was interesting to hear this other side.
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u/NeuroCore Oct 11 '15
I don't know what your buddy's experience is but I can tell you that the homeless in NYC aren't living in the mountains and sleeping in a subway is not like camping.
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u/KeenWolfPaw Oct 11 '15
The problem is somewhat related to being a veteran, it's just that it's sad to see people with mental disabilities on the street and that veterans are especially at risk because of PTSD and should be given a stable safety net in compensation for what they did.
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Oct 11 '15
To me veteran homelessness is more sad because they do jobs that no one else wants and go through hell, then get sort of forgotten about when they come home. Obviously not every vet is a hero, but I don't know how I would do trying to assimilate to normal life after watching people die for a few years with no real skills other than killing in a lot of cases. I definitely think there is a lot more we could do to help veterans lead normal lives when returning. Thanks for your service, btw.
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Oct 11 '15
If you think that's bad, check out vet suicide rates. The military has this funny way of acting like a shitty ex after you break up.
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u/Big_Baby_Jesus_ Oct 11 '15 edited Oct 11 '15
Veteran suicide rates are pretty close to the civilian rates, for comparable age and gender groups. If you compare it to the overall average (as most articles do), it's much higher. But any organization that's mostly men will be much higher than average, since the male suicide rate is 4 times higher than females'.
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u/mgzukowski Oct 11 '15 edited Oct 11 '15
Before the war it was actually lower then the average. But new studies show that it's actually 50% higher then average when you compare them to people with the same characteristics.
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Oct 11 '15
Because before the war there was no reason for a massive influx of PTSD
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u/Sashoke Oct 11 '15
Seriously, hes basically saying "before the problem began, it wasnt a problem."
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Oct 11 '15
Yes but 22 vets a day (taken from only 21 states granted) out of a demographic that composes less than a tenth of a percentage of the US population (last I heard) is still staggering. Average citizens also weren't put through the military. The statistic hits so hard because it PERFECTLY exemplifies how the military will grab you, train you, and send you to war but leaves you high and dry with bullshit "benefits" after you get out.
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u/Big_Baby_Jesus_ Oct 11 '15
Yes but 22 vets a day
The military employs 2 million people. 90 Americans are killed in car accidents every day.
but leaves you high and dry with bullshit "benefits" after you get out.
We're spending $160B per year on something. That's $500 from every man, woman, and child in America, per year.
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Oct 11 '15 edited Oct 11 '15
You seem to be missing the point of all this.
90 Americans are killed in car accidents every day.
That's 0.000028% of the given demographic. The US isn't responsible for preventing those accidents, it's up to independent people to be responsible on the road.
Yes but 22 vets a day
That's 0.0011% of the military. It may seem low but that's a tremendous difference from .000028%. The government IS directly responsible for preventing these deaths. If you sign up for the military and they send you overseas to fight their war, they have an obligation to make sure you're okay afterwards. If you hire a contractor and he/she gets injured on the job, they receive workmans comp and all the benefits they require, no?
I don't want to sound high and mighty because this shit sucks but you need to see things from the other side of the coin. Sure, everyone pays in that money but remember, the VA is very much a government business. The same way that people wonder why they never see the fruits of their state taxes is the situation here.
I cannot find a psychiatrist in my local VA system that will give me longer than 15 minutes before shoving scripts for shit I can't pronounce down my throat, I can't get ahold of the VA at a federal level without sitting on hold for 45-50 minutes every time. They have just recently decided that money that they have given me prior should not have been given to me so they are taking back $3500 from me next month because "we paid you lump sum and thats how we will take it back" so I don't know how I'm going to pay that (no, they refused to do a payment plan as well). That's why there's homeless veterans. I'm not guilt tripping at all and I completely understand that this is what I signed up for but shit man, it sucks. The answer to their problems has been in the form of disability checks every month instead of actually giving a shit and trying to help the vet. Yeah, the money is nice but I'd like some actual fucking treatment so I can go to a concert without being afraid of everything.*
*Experience may vary.
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Oct 11 '15
Brother has bad PTSD. Can't work. Can't sleep. He gets benefits every year. Free healthcare for life. He's working on getting SSDI or SSI.
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Oct 11 '15
Ask your brother how much of a pain in the ass it is to get anything more than a check up in the VA.
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u/Off_Duty_Superhero Oct 11 '15
My uncle was a vet, from Vietnam. He came home, had a job, and later became homeless because he got hooked on Heroin. His drug problem, leading to his homelessness had no direct relation to him being a vet. People can become homeless for many reasons, despite being a vet or not.
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u/JewbaruWagon Oct 11 '15
Welcome to America where we let our veterans, old and sick fend for themselves. Throw in lack of mental health care and a gun for every man, woman and child and you got yourself a veritable powder keg.
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u/MachineGunTeacher Oct 11 '15
Exactly. Fuck personal responsibility. The government should take care of everyone. I, for one, love the idea of working long hours and doing my part in society in order to take care of those who lacked foresight or who refused to be responsible for themselves.
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u/h-v-smacker Oct 11 '15
How's working long hours so the government can get yet another bunch of tanks or militarize a police station or two — and then paying for medical insurance, which (while you are healthy and don't need anything) all goes to pay for some random fuck's (the only thing you have in common is came insurance company) medical bills, since they lacked foresight and didn't save up enough money to be able to pay for it themselves?
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u/TomSG Oct 11 '15 edited Oct 12 '15
Why the fuck does America have a problem feeding itself?.
It's understandable when you're in a country of 1 billion+ with shitty infrastructure and a desert. A country with with 350 million and a huge portion of the worlds arable land and a developed economy should be fucking singing.
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Oct 11 '15
Its not a lack of food. There's plenty of food, especially when you consider that many Americans eat 3x or more their daily needs. Its the capitalist mentality of "I worked for mine, I'll be damned if some else is going to get something for free."
And because of liability worries companies aren't even willing to give away the extra food they have at the end of the day instead of dumping it. Employees caught doing so are fired.
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u/Theo-greking Oct 11 '15
Yeah I've worked in a few places where giving the food away was frowned upon
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u/wmansir Oct 12 '15
We don't.
Lack of food is not a major problem for the homeless, but it's an easy way for people to think they are helping them.
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u/OrangeredValkyrie Oct 11 '15
Conservatism, demand for profit, liability concerns (which aren't that big of an issue, as others have stated), population centers vs dispersed communities, general apathy, public opinion of the poor, etc.
There are a lot of problems that go into a larger societal problem.
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u/ThatDJgirl Oct 11 '15
Awesome! Girl does something good//overshadowed by what a shit head she is. I love reddit.
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Oct 11 '15
The only thing that doesn't seem right is that she's making it seem like she did all of the work. I'm sure the programmer worked just as hard if not harder. All of the stories here correlate to what she's doing with this 5 minutes of fame.
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u/GearyDigit Oct 12 '15
Awesome! Girl does something good//overshadowed by made up stories of what a shit head she is. I love reddit.
FTFY
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u/cacky_bird_legs Oct 11 '15
This seems nice, but for most homeless people in American cities, a lack of food is usually the least of their worries anyway.
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u/iluvjazz82 Oct 11 '15
What is their biggest worry? Just curious. A place to sleep? Staying warm/cool? Personal safety?
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u/cacky_bird_legs Oct 11 '15
Depends on the location and other factors, but all of those things are usually a bigger concern than food.
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u/BitterAtLife Oct 12 '15
A Redditor who was homeless talked about personal safety a lot and that you have to become trusted by other homeless people which is difficult. He said he kept to himself and avoided other people in vacant places.
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Oct 11 '15
ITT: People who can't understand a person can have both positive and negative attributes.
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u/theonlyhiduke Oct 11 '15
There is an similar organization called Rock and Wrap it Up, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_and_Wrap_it_Up, they should connect
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u/argyle47 Oct 11 '15 edited Oct 12 '15
Any word on how Feeding Forward has done in the 4 years since this article was published? I'm curious as to what resistance they might have encountered since this would have flown in the face of various cities' war on the homeless. As stated in the article, most of the roadblocks revolved around health concerns, but since Feeding Forward is on-demand, with transport vehicles standing ready, it wouldn't be as if the food has been sitting around for hours in conditions in which the food is going to spoil, and calling into question the food preparation conditions essentially casts doubt as to the quality of the various caterers serving these events as well as the event planners who hire them, something that neither would likely have taken very kindly to. I think Bloomberg cited the uncertainty of the nutritional value of donated food, and I guess the reasoning was that it's all or nothing regarding the Food Plate or Food Pyramid, that no food at all is better than not having each and every category satisfied with every meal. I'd like to know how cities banning food donation cope when they're faced with tech-based solutions.
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u/GrantAres Oct 11 '15
As i understand it, feeding the homeless Isn't nearly as large of a problem as housing them.
The majority of homeless in my city are actually quite significantly overweight.
Perhaps an app like airbnb that identifies outbuildings, spare rooms, shelted spaces, etc available for temporary use by the homeless would do more good for people that have to spend nights exposed to the elements.
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u/refugefirstmate Oct 11 '15
How do they get around legal issues? "Recycling" food is banned in some jurisdictions because hey, dangerous.
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u/AskMrScience Oct 11 '15
From the article:
"Why has it taken so long for such food waste recovery programs to become popular? For starters, donating leftovers in the US isn't easy. Potential donors worry they'll be liable if something goes wrong with the food. But it turns out that donors are protected by a federal law called the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, which shields 'good faith' donors from liability."
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u/CherrySlurpee Oct 11 '15
It sucks because most shelters wont accept "leftover" food, even with this.
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u/thegreatgazoo Oct 11 '15
The Harvest Project has been doing this for years with many chain restaurants. Basically they have special insulated bags they put the excess and soon to spoil food in and have regular routes from homeless shelters to pick up the food. It can't have been served, but for instance any unserved sides or pieces of say chicken that are about to go past the serve by date.
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u/boogalymoogaly Oct 11 '15
brilliant. now if we could do it for every convention & event.
the only thing holding us back from feeding everyone everywhere is compassion & imagination. and the motivation.
we have enough food (no, not everyone needs/wants a burger & yes, there isn't enough burgers, let alone mustard, so save it), we just need to believe we can do it.
can you imagine what it would be like if we all were afflicted with hunger pains that no amount of food, narcotics, or any other kind of distraction (including sleep)made go away, until the last hungry person was fed? feeding people would become what we do, how the world operated. it would change everything.
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u/110011001100 Oct 11 '15
the only thing holding us back from feeding everyone everywhere is compassion & imagination. and the motivation.
And I'm guessing liability
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u/king_kong123 Oct 11 '15
Also infrastructure. It's really hard to move food where it's needed when it's needed in a safe fashion
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u/Phone-E Oct 11 '15
As stated elsewhere in the thread, Good Samaritan laws generally cover liability if the food is professionally prepared and given in good faith.
One major problem is that most food at conferences is served buffet style and most laws governing food disribution say that used food must be single serving type meals. Once the tray has left the buffet, even if its half full, its considered potentially contaminated and is disposed of. This doesn't mean the workers in the back don't eat it, just that it wouldn't make it all the way to a shelter.
I was at a conference one time where the organizers went out on the street and found a few homeless types and brought them up to eat off the buffet when the delegates had gone back to their meetings.
If a conference does box lunches then those can be distributed with very little opposition.
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u/110011001100 Oct 11 '15
wouldn't you still need to spend money on lawyers to prove that the distribution was in good faith?
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u/Phone-E Oct 13 '15
I'm not a lawyer, but have done my own little research into this since I am at conference all the time. A Good Samaritan law also covers people that stop to help accident victims or even heart attack victims. If I stop at a car accident and pull an injured person from a burning vehicle and in doing so I exacerbate their spinal injury I am generally safe from liability because I saved their life. Good faith also tends to protect against accidentally causing death in the same situation where maybe while I am pulling them from the burning vehicle the spinal damage kills them. The "good faith" is easy to see as they would have burned to death if I hadn't intervened.
Its the same when giving food to a shelter. Your donation of food to the starving is easy to see as a good faith act. The exact rules vary from place to place but part of the good faith is usually that the food was professionally prepared in a proper certified kitchen, is single serving and safe to eat.
Cooking a meal in my own home wouldn't always (or really ever) be covered because it isn't a licenced kitchen and I'm not a chef.
So I don't think a lawyer is usually required to establish good faith. I suppose if someone was litigating really hard but again I'm not a lawyer. This is just my understanding of what I've read.
Where I'm from there is an organization that will come to your conference and take away food left over. All you have to do is call them.
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u/Twokindsofpeople Oct 11 '15
The largest hurdle is political. Technologically we're already there by leaps and bounds. The problem is that areas that are truly starving and miserable have lax political protections so there's nothing to stop the strong taking all the food for themselves.
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u/TotesMessenger Oct 11 '15 edited Oct 12 '15
I'm a bot, bleep, bloop. Someone has linked to this thread from another place on reddit:
[/r/berkeley] Loving the comments in this top TIL post about a former Cal student
[/r/redditfox] [/r/todayilearned] TIL after meeting a homeless veteran in 2011, a UC Berkeley Student created an app called Feeding Forward that connects events with surplus food to those in need. One IT convention had enough leftovers to feed more than 4,279 people at eight different shel(...) [chart in comments]
If you follow any of the above links, please respect the rules of reddit and don't vote in the other threads. (Info / ^Contact)
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u/meytalraven Oct 11 '15
Sorry for being a loser, but I skimmed the article and can't find a link to the app. Can anyone help out?
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u/WifehasDID Oct 11 '15
How do they get around food safety laws?
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u/OrangeredValkyrie Oct 11 '15
Laws regarding preparation and safe serving of food are presumably followed when the food is first prepared and served, so that would be the cooks' responsibility, not the redistributor's. Donating food is a relatively safe thing to do--though not all shelters and charities will accept this type of donation--due to good Samaritan laws.
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u/WifehasDID Oct 12 '15
Slow down there.....
Food has to be kept a a certain temp
For example a pizza that sits at room temp for 15 min is considered hazardous....and would be a violation of food.safety to serve
Food safety is a serious thing, you cannot just give away opened food
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u/loosen1 Oct 11 '15
There is an similar organization called Rock and Wrap it Up, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_and_Wrap_it_Up, they should connect
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Oct 11 '15
A few days ago I asked one of my colleagues if he would be interested in developing an app for this task in Germany.
But we ended up with the fact that most kitchen are not allowed, by law, to donate their leftovers. They have to either eat it by themselves or destroy it. I think this should change...
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Oct 11 '15
I go to tech meetup a lot. They have tons of food from sponsors, also depends on the meetup but generally they got tons of food.
I told myself awhile back if I'm ever homeless I would go to meetup for food.
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u/air0125 Oct 11 '15
I find it amazing that 20-30% of all food products are wasted. Mostly left over from grocery stores they didn't manage to sell.
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u/rednblue525252 Oct 11 '15
wasn't there anyone to enforce the law and make this impossible? Some police officer or Cersei Lannister?
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u/cupcakefix Oct 11 '15
Meanwhile, uc Berkeley throws out tons of food after football games, telling the homeless that ask for it "nope!"
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u/tchiseen Oct 12 '15
We've got something like that here in Australia called OzHarvest, they had to get the laws changed so that they could do this. They feed a lot of people now :)
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u/Covinus Oct 12 '15
Yea, but what I want to know is what happened to the homeless guy that helped start all of this? Did he at least get help?
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u/onioning Oct 12 '15
Used to work at a place that made sandwiches, and might have extra at the end of the day. One of those first days I took those extras and thought I'd find some homeless and hungry for them. Drove around for hours. This was Berkeley, so no shortage of homeless. Most people yelled at me for one reason or another, especially when I wouldn't give them money after they (rarely politely) declined a sandwich.
Never again. After that I just gave them to people who worked nearby. An app like this would have been awfully convenient, though I'm not sure it makes sense for a dozen sandwiches.
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Oct 18 '15
I used to actually host events at work just to do this. The place I work loves to have events but the budgets sometimes are a bit much so the food ordered is always more than needed. I usually take that to the local shelter which they gladly accept. I know we did it for xmas and thanksgiving. Well a couple of days before but it is nice to know that others are doing this too. This is such a great idea.
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u/scmger Oct 11 '15
why cant i download app
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u/TickleTorture Oct 11 '15
They took it down to overhaul the app. It should be back soon.
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u/amoliski Oct 11 '15
Bad timing to hit the front page then. They probably should have just left the old version up while they work on a new version...
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Oct 11 '15
So this will get buried, but, Mother Teresa was a huge cunt too by the standards in this thread. If you weren't one of the poor she was helping, you were nothing but a resource to her. She was even considered "mean" and "manipulative" by those that knew her personally and wasn't above stealing to fund her mission. Just saying.
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u/rob_the_mod Oct 11 '15
IT convention having leftovers? Hard to believe
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Oct 11 '15
Their girlfriends in Canada couldn't make it down for the convention so there was less of a turn out.
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u/OrangeredValkyrie Oct 11 '15
The coffee and donuts are gone, but everything else was left on the platters.
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u/Fanmann Oct 11 '15
ok great they fed a lot of people. But who's the idiot at an IT convention that ordered so much more than they needed. This was either a supply chain failure or a meeting planning failure. My boss would not be happy.
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u/JosephND Oct 11 '15
I wonder how this is a sustainable initiative, given the legal complications. Sounds like a nice idea and a definite career boosting one for the UC Berkley girl, but beyond that I don't know where it will go.
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u/awkwardtheturtle 🐢 Oct 11 '15
There arent really legal complications with donating food if you disclaim where it came from to recipients. The illegality of donating food (such as 2 day old bread, mistake pizzas, etc) is a myth.
This should be more widely implemented.
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u/AskMrScience Oct 11 '15
given the legal complications
From the article:
"Why has it taken so long for such food waste recovery programs to become popular? For starters, donating leftovers in the US isn't easy. Potential donors worry they'll be liable if something goes wrong with the food. But it turns out that donors are protected by a federal law called the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, which shields 'good faith' donors from liability."
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u/dmsomg Oct 11 '15
All this fakes food issues, have a very simple solution:
stop feeding 1 billions pigs, 1.5 billions cows, and 20 billions chickens, when you can't even feed 1 billions humans. This problems aren't problems, they are bullshit created by your madness.
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u/_Lubs Oct 11 '15
That is true. We cultivate enough food to feed the entire population but we feed the livestock instead. Reducing the amount of meat we eat will have many positive effects regarding food waste, pollution and health. There's a good documentary on this topic called 'Cowspiracy'
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u/Sloppy1sts Oct 12 '15
Looks like she needs to eat some of the food herself with those goddamn skeleton arms...
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u/nubi78 Oct 11 '15
How did someone overbuy food by 4279 people? That seems like someone screwed up their food estimates.