ROME — It never occurs to most of us that our morning cappuccino or lunchtime slice of pizza could change a child’s life; that the chocolate bars and bagels that get us through the day could do the same for someone else; and that sharing them could be fun.

But they can and it is.

WeFeedback is a bold social media initiative that aims to engage as many people as possible in solving the greatest global social challenge – world hunger -- one person at a time. As well as individuals, there is also plenty of scope for schools, institutions and companies to take part.

“This exciting initiative is built on the idea that if we all do a little, we can achieve a lot. Your favourite food means a nutritious school meal for a hungry child, and  hope for a better future,” says Nancy Roman, Director of Communications, Public Policy and Private-Sector Partnerships at WFP.
Feed it back

If you go to wefeedback.org, recently launched in beta version, you can already ‘feed back’ your favourite foods. You enter your cheeseburger or cupcake into the feedback calculator and out comes the number of children you can nourish for a day with that specific item.  You are then prompted to transform your cheeseburger – or whatever it might be – into meals for hungry children.

A portion of dark chocolate ice cream, for example, could provide a meal for seven hungry kids. A plate of tofu enchiladas, meanwhile, provides for 10 children.

Feeding 10 children for a day might not sound like much, but if five of your friends follow suit and then five of their friends do the same, your network will have raised enough to feed 372 children. Before long, the impact is quite impressive!

Tap your networks

WeFeedback encourages people to use their social networks like Facebook and Twitter to bring friends, family and colleagues onboard. With their personal profile pages on the website, users can see how many children both they and their network of friends have fed, and with what combination of foods.

The wefeedback.org platform already has a host of features and content enabling the community to feedback and monitor the day-by-day progress it is achieving. More features, including apps for iPhone/iPad, Windows Phone 7 and Facebook, will be added soon.

“We welcome the comments and suggestions we are starting to get from people as WeFeedback goes viral, so it can be as fun and effective as possible,” says Roman.

Money raised by WeFeedback goes to fund WFP school meal programmes. Every year, WFP provides nutritious snacks and lunches to over 22 million children worldwide, many of whom would not be able to continue studying without the food they receive at school.

The food gives them the precious vitamins and nutrients that their bodies need to grow and their minds need to learn.

But just as importantly, school meals can help break the cycle of poverty and hunger by fuelling children’s education and giving them the strength and energy they need to strive towards a better future.