An often overlooked aspect of struggles faced by American families is food insecurity. In the U.S., 10.5% of households are food insecure, according to ers.usda.gov. While efforts are being made to aid those in need, never before has helping out been so personal. Now, with the advances of technology, nearly everyone can help solve food insecurity.

Founded at Washington University in St. Louis in 2015, GiftAMeal allows both users and restaurant owners power in the donation process. Individuals living in or near St. Louis, Kansas City and Chicago can download the GiftAMeal app and support local restaurants and food banks to feed in those communities, according to the GiftAMeal twitter profile. The app is committed to providing food in a sustainable way that can be infinitely expanded. So far, they have provided more than 740,000 meals, all according to giftameal.com.

To start helping, users have to download the GiftAMeal app and create an account which automatically gives one meal. Then, users can search for a partnering restaurant and choose to eat out there. Once the food is on the table, users can snap a picture of their meal and upload it to the GiftAMeal app. Every picture sent will result in donations given to food banks, all according to giftameal.com.

Working on a national level, the social media giant TikTok has partnered with Feeding America to fund ending hunger in the United States. This summer, TikTok released a mini-game to provide food education for consumption and donation. The game, called “Garden of Good”, will be able to play until June 6, 2022, and requires players to be 18 years or older, all according to feedingamerica.org.

To play, eligible TikTok users can head to their accounts and click on the carrot icon in the upper left corner of their profile screen. For the first time playing, users must select something to grow. To help donate, users grow their plants through an earned currency called drops. Drops are earned when completing tasks in the game. After enough drops, the garden will grow and be able to be harvested. After harvesting, TikTok will donate 10 cents per pound of crops. This was not the first time TikTok collaborated to solve hunger. In 2020, the app first started to use its presence for good.

TikTok implemented donation stickers to raise money for charity during live streams. These donation amounts were matched up until May 2021. In addition, they partnered with 100 Coconuts, a coconut water brand, to donate money to Feeding America, all according to distractify.com.