Jasmine Crowe is the founder of The Goodr App.
Here in Atlanta, more than 755,000 people including 300,000 children and seniors, live in food-insecure households. Every year in the U.S., 33 million tons of good food is wasted, and it costs the country roughly $1.3 billion to dispose of it. While in America, 1 out of every 7 people goes hungry every day, for Black and Hispanic kids, the hunger numbers can be as high as 1 in 3. Each month, families living in these circumstances have to choose between paying for food and paying for utilities.
Jasmine Crowe, founder of the Goodr Food Rescue App, believes this is a serious problem. No one should have to decide if food is a necessity in their home.
Goodr is a real-time food-rescue app using shared economy that allows its users to redirect surplus food to soup kitchens, shelters, nonprofits and churches. Users include but are not limited to hotels, restaurants, schools and event planners. Birthed in Atlanta through the social-impact accelerator powered by Goodie Nation, the app is poised to be the next big thing in the fight against hunger.
Since 2013, Crowe has been vested in the fight against hunger and homelessness. Through an initiative called Sunday Soul she created with her company, Black Celebrity Giving, she’s cooked and served over 30,000 meals to those experiencing hunger. Crowe has partnered with several celebrities — hip-hop star Future, business mogul and TV star Kandi Burruss and R&B singer Raheem DeVaughn, among others — and engaged over 1500 volunteers in five U.S. cities, as well as hosted endeavors in Haiti and the UK.
Despite all the resources that are available, from food banks to pantries as well as the ongoing efforts we see in our grocery stores and on TV, the fact remains that food is still being wasted by the ton and millions still suffer from hunger.
“Too often, people are making a tough decision between paying for food and paying their rent and other bills,” Crowe said. “This is unacceptable. No one should have to decide if food is a necessity in their household!
“It costs us $1.3 billion to dispose of all the waste. That’s ridiculous. We can solve this problem.”
Crowe and her team say they are committed to reducing food waste by 15 percent and are committed to feeding 25 million people who suffer from hunger in the U.S.
The company has launched a Kickstarter campaign “A Dollar and a Dream to End Hunger” to raise $15,000. Funding raised from the campaign will be used to open a food hub where rescued food can be delivered 24/7 and to finish the build out of the app. While the app is starting in Atlanta, plans to launch in other major cities are already underway, with the next launches planned for North Carolina, where Crowe attended college at North Carolina Central University
To learn more about the Goodr App, visit GoodrApp.com.
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— Dr. Dionne Mahaffey is an Atlanta-based writer, business psychologist and founder of The WhereU app. Follow her on Twitter @ATLcelebrity @WhereUCameFrom
