Let’s say you and your friends are eating at a local restaurant tonight. If you knew the restaurant you chose would positively impact someone's life, would you choose that restaurant instead of another one that wouldn't?
FoodCircles hopes so. Since 2011, they have been helping to feed hungry children with their easy-to-use web and mobile applications. All you have to do is sign up, choose a participating restaurant and charity, and a child gets a meal. Plus, you get deals, too. It's really that simple.
Here's how the process works. Visitors sign up at the FoodCircles website or through the mobile app, which works with iOS or Android. Then, when you're ready to eat out, choose from the participating restaurants and select a discount option based on the number in your party. Next, choose your charity. Once you're done, you can either have FoodCircles call ahead to the restaurant or you can get a voucher to print or show on your mobile phone.
So far, more than 1,200 meals have been donated to children through FoodCircles and its two nonprofit charities. How's that for "feel good dining?"
Founder Jonathan Kumar came up with the idea when he and his friends didn't want to cook. They wondered if restaurants would give them any deals if they combined their “buying power” and then wondered how to harness that “power” for good.
Kumar says the idea is sort of like a “Groupon for good.”
FoodCircles currently partners with Kids' Food Basket locally and World Vision internationally to help feed children. They were chosen because Kumar believes they are doing something quantified with little money and their work goes beyond just throwing money at the problems.
“We picked two good ones doing awesome things,” he says.
Right now, the participating restaurants pay a monthly fee to be a FoodCircles member and for every group that eats at their restaurant, $1 is donated out of that amount to the charities.
Restaurants benefit from the program by getting more diners, gaining social credibility, and having the satisfaction of knowing they are helping children.
A few years in and FoodCircles is now experimenting with some new ideas. Their upcoming “Buy One, Feed One” program, also known as BOFO, will let people buy appetizers, drinks, or desserts for a dollar and 100 percent of the money will go to charity.
“Buy One, Feed One is more symbolic than literally about food,” says Kumar.
He’s hoping to partner with some new nonprofits and they may not necessarily feed people, but help them in other meaningful ways.
FoodCircles is soon going to be sharing its mobile technology with nonprofits. Right now, Kumar and his team are creating mobile app for Feeding America West Michigan Food Bank that will allow people to donate, volunteer, or choose to eat at a FoodCircles restaurant by using the app. The nonprofit organization will get to keep 100 percent of all donations and when people choose to dine out on their behalf, FoodCircles will take a percentage.
Kumar says he's also asking the mobile app customers to help him get more restaurant customers. The nonprofit will have a choice of either paying a one-time fee to have the mobile app developed, or they can sign up a certain number of new restaurants with the FoodCircles program and get the app free.
With around 700 Grand Rapids users, FoodCircles has 18 restaurants to choose from right now and they are adding four more over the next few weeks: CitySen, One Trick Pony Grill and Taproom, Two Beards Deli, and Louie Benton Steakhouse.
Eventually, Kumar would like to expand the program nationwide and hopes to be in 10 new states by the end of the year. Locally, they are launching the FoodCircles program in Allendale, Grand Haven, and Muskegon in the next few months.
“Grand Rapids is our sandbox, our test market,” Kumar says.
Since FoodCircles would like to add a lot of new restaurants to its Grand Rapids program this year, Kumar is willing to take a gamble and offer to buy dinner to anyone who signs up a restaurant. Restaurant owners and staff are eligible, yet there are some restrictions to this offer so contact Kumar for full details.
Before you eat out next time, consider using the FoodCircles program and let your dollars “do good.” Here’s how you can get started:
- Visit
FoodCircles online to find out more about how the program works.
- Download the
mobile app or
register online to start using FoodCircles.
- Before eating out, visit the site and
choose one of the FoodCircles restaurants.
- Consider using FoodCircles when ordering food for your next big
event.
- If you don't see your favorite restaurant on the site, have them
contact Kumar to be added. Or, if your own restaurant wants to participate, contact him to find out more.
- Like them on
Facebook.
- Follow
@FoodCircles on Twitter.
Source: Jonathan Kumar, Founder of FoodCircles
Writer: Heidi Stukkie, Do Good Editor
Images provided by FoodCircles.