What’s the idea?
The original idea for BanktheFood came from a group of secondary school children whilst working with their local food bank.
The students learnt that their food bank often struggled with effectively communicating their realtime supply and demand needs to their donors.
Social media posts or notices in supermarkets, quickly go out of date and as a result, food banks can be inundated with one item or have little of another.
Regularly updating their realtime needs to their local community, can be a cumbersome admin task, which takes food bank volunteers away from their crucial work of collecting and distributing food.
The students thought that an answer to this problem, is a mobile phone app where food banks can regularly log their needs for shoppers to see, when they are at a supermarket.
With this idea in mind BanktheFood was born.
How does BanktheFood work?
- The first step is for a local food bank to sign up to BanktheFood by downloading the app on any of the app stores (bankthefood.org) and registering themselves by following the simple instructions.
- Once the food bank has listed all it’s needs, local residents can simply sign up to the app, and “follow” their food bank. BanktheFood, will send users a helpful little ping with a reminder of the shopping list, when they are in the vicinity of one of the local drop off points. A quick reminder such as “Southend food bank needs tinned puddings, jam and tinned ravioli” will remind shoppers to donate at the exact time the reminder is needed - when they are entering the supermarket. Shoppers can then choose what they would like to buy and leave their donation in the food banks's donation box at the supermarket, knowing that they have given exactly what their food bank needs. The food bank will be alerted of the donation via BanktheFood app.
Who is behind BanktheFood?
BanktheFood has been developed by Daniel and his digital multi media company Mustard New Media; they have had been working in the digital industry since 1999 and have had many high profile clients such as Sky, Harper Collins, Mills & Boon and Hive.
Daniel and his team are donating their time, expertise and maintenance of the app as part of their social corporate responsibility.
Emma is managing BanktheFood on a day to day basis; she is firstly a Mum, but also a Primary school teacher. Emma has had extensive experience working with schools as a Local Authority Schools Advisor and as a Chair of Governors for a Federation of schools.
Emma has seen first hand the effect hunger and poverty can have on children and their families and knows that BanktheFood can be a direct solution to the problem of ensuring that food banks receive exactly what they need, when they need.
Emma is also donating her time to manage, develop and promote BanktheFood.
One thing Dan and Emma are very clear about; the app will always be free to it’s users.
How will we use any Crowdfunder donations?
BanktheFood has been piloted in two test areas where any glitches have been ironed out. Southend food bank noted 'that supermarket giving had increased' which they attributed to the BanktheFood pilot.
The app is now ready to be launched nationally and we are reaching out to the generous Crowdfunder population to help us with our mission.
We would love to make our app available to every food bank in the country and to do this we are asking for donations to hep us with our ambitious goal.
We are a registered charity (Charity Commission for England and Wales Number 1194167). All your donations will be used to help food banks by further developing our app and promoting awareness of BanktheFood.
The more people we have using the app, the more certain we can be that food banks are getting exactly what they need, when they need.
How YOU can help
* Select a reward on this page
* Choose to add extra funds when you pledge, if you wish
* Download and start using the BanktheFood at bankthefood.org
* Spread the word of BanktheFood to your friends, family on social media