Software:FaceDonate

From HandWiki
FaceDonate
FaceDonate
TypeLimited company
Headquarters
London
,
UK
Websitefacedonate.org

FaceDonate is a web-application, a SaaS platform, that makes it easy for food bank visitors to access fresh food and essential household items.[1]

How it works

Individuals who come to food banks are offered the option of registering a FaceDonate account. Food banks' staff can then allocate personalised digital payment vouchers to the registered users. The vouchers are funded through donations[2] to food banks and offered to visitors instead of traditional pre-packaged food parcels.[3] The vouchers are redeemable through the FaceDonate platform and can be spent on a range of items in participating supermarket chains in the UK, including Nisa, and local shops, for example, at Ridley Road Market.[4][5][6][7][8]

Supported charities

  • Community Food Hub by Children with Voices[9], registered (in England and Wales) charity number 1191018[10]
  • Instant Neighbour[11], registered (in Scotland) charity number SC002223[12]
  • The Trussell Trust, Hackney Foodbank[3], registered (in England and Wales) charity number 1149896[13]

Reception

  • In November 2022, Innovate UK awarded a R&D grant to FaceDonate.[14]
  • in March 2022, a global consulting firm, Baringa Partners LLP, selected FaceDonate for its Startup Safari initiative at Retail Technology Show.[15]

See also

  • Cost of living crisis (UK)

References

  1. "Making it easier to access food and household items" (in en-GB). London: Hackney Foodbank. 2022-11-09. https://www.hackney.foodbank.org.uk/news/more-funding-urgently-needed-phone-to-food. "[FaceDonate] enables food bank visitors to choose and buy their own food..." 
  2. "Who are the young talent winners of this year's GoBeyond contest". Forbes. 2020-11-27. https://forbes.it/2020/11/27/gobeyond-sisal-2020-vince-chiodiapaga-startup-anti-hater/. "FaceDonate is a system that uses AI, QR codes and contactless payment technologies to make donations..." 
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Phone to food" (in en-GB). https://www.hackney.foodbank.org.uk/phone-to-food. "People who are referred to Hackney Foodbank with a voucher code are offered the option of setting up a Face Donate account. Credit can then be allocated and redeemed through the Face Donate platform. The credit is funded through donations to Hackney Foodbank and offered by food bank staff when possible instead of traditional parcels." 
  4. Mao, Xuxin; De Biasio, Alberto; Millard, Stephen (2022-05-09). "Nudging Towards Healthy Eating" (in en-GB). London: NIESR. https://www.niesr.ac.uk/blog/nudging-towards-healthy-eating. "[FaceDonate is] a solution capable of allocating credit directly to individuals, who can then spend the credit to shop at local stores, giving dignity to, and enhancing choice for, the credit beneficiaries." 
  5. Noble, Will (2022-12-02). "Hackney Food Bank Pioneers 'Buy What You Like' Vouchers" (in en-GB). Londonist (London). https://londonist.com/london/news/hackney-food-bank-phone-to-food. "[Using the FaceDonate platform, food banks] give digital credit to people who've been referred to the food bank, allowing them to spend it in shops, including Nisa stores and Ridley Road Market." 
  6. Gregory, Julia (2022-09-21). "Hackney Foodbank in plea for support as residents speak out about cost-of-living crisis" (in en-GB). Hackney Citizen (London). https://www.hackneycitizen.co.uk/2022/09/21/hackney-foodbank-plea-support-residents-cost-of-living-crisis/. "Another new scheme is [the use of the FaceDonate platform], which sees people get money loaded onto their phone so they can buy food in some of the bigger supermarkets in the borough." 
  7. Donaldson, Becca (2021-08-23). "Tech For Good" (in en-GB). TechRound. https://techround.co.uk/tech-for-good/17-face-donate/. "Using the [FaceDonate] existing technology, fresh food can be made available directly to referred individuals and households, with donations forming credits for them to spend as they shop in participating retailers." 
  8. "Cost of living crisis: Hackney Foodbank sees highest demand in decade". Eastlondonlines. 2022-12-02. https://www.eastlondonlines.co.uk/2022/12/cost-of-living-crisis-hackney-foodbank-sees-highest-demand-in-decade-amid-50pc-drop-in-donations/. "The food bank launched the [FaceDonate-powered] scheme by which people are given credit to spend at local participating stores and markets. The food banks' CEO praised the scheme: “It’s cheap food, it’s culturally specific, and people spend it like a credit card on your phone so there’s dignity involved. People can suit themselves in terms of what they eat, they get fresh food instead of perishables.”" 
  9. "We've partnered with FaceDonate!". London: Children with Voices. https://childrenwithvoices.org/old-home/. "We have partnered with the brilliant FaceDonate to help raise vital funds for our food hubs and youth programmes in the run up to Christmas, alongside helping us with the costs of our monthly storage which is vital for us to continue our work." 
  10. "CHILDREN WITH VOICES - Charity 1191018" (in en-GB). https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/5160339. 
  11. "Thanks to Face Donate". Aberdeen: Instant Neighbour. 2020-11-17. https://www.instantneighbour.co.uk/thanks-to-face-donate/. "Thanks to our friends at Face Donate we have managed to secure a small delivery each week from Kerrs Dairy and are looking into securing other weekly suppliers from other local dairies/stores so that we can hopefully offer each client a fresh bottle of milk with their parcel." 
  12. "Instant Neighbour Aberdeen - Charity SC002223". https://www.oscr.org.uk/about-charities/search-the-register/charity-details?number=SC002223. 
  13. "THE HACKNEY FOODBANK - Charity 1149896" (in en-GB). https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/5029101. 
  14. "Improving health and increasing wellbeing: reducing food insecurity and waste, with dignity, through a self-reporting app.". https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=10045285. "Face Donate is a secure app that enables donations to be passed on to people in food insecurity and to receive updates on how the donations were used." 
  15. Thompson, Scott (2022-03-17). "Retail Technology Show Startup Safari line up announced". Retail Technology Innovation Hub. https://retailtechinnovationhub.com/home/2022/3/17/retail-technology-show-startup-safari-line-up-announced. 

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