Do you like dining out? Do you like to help those in need? A St. Louis-based startup is helping individuals find great restaurants while feeding the hungry in our community. GiftAMeal is a mobile app that gives a meal to someone in need through Operation Food Search each time a user takes a photo at a partner restaurant. The app is partnered with over 80 restaurants in the St. Louis area, and with numerous restaurants around the country in Chicago and Detroit.

The service was started by Washington University graduate Andrew Glantz and his business partner, Dartmouth student Aidan Folbe, when they sought to create a non-profit with a purpose and a solution to the struggles restaurants face engaging customers.

I found out about the GiftAMeal app after Glantz came to speak to our SLU chapter of the Alpha Kappa Psi professional fraternity. He was extremely passionate about the mission of the app, and it was clear that the team behind this business had the betterment of the community at the forefront of their vision. I immediately downloaded the app, and I use it every chance I get. There are a lot of restaurants close to SLU that participate in GiftAMeal, including The Fountain on Locust, Urban Chestnut Brewing Co., Triumph Grill, BaiKu Sushi Lounge and Narwhal’s Crafted Urban Ice.

It is extremely easy to use, and it is a win-win-win for everyone involved. This app helps local food shelters to provide meals to people who desperately need them. On the business side, joining GiftAMeal is fantastic PR for local St. Louis restaurants. For the user, it is an awesome way to give back at no cost. It allows me to feel engaged with the community by trying the local restaurants that are partnered with the app here in St. Louis and with new restaurants signing up and being added to the app every day—there is never a shortage of good food to try.

GiftAMeal gives users the opportunity to help others with just a click of a button. Service is a huge part of our mission here at SLU, and this effortless way to help others fits seamlessly into everyone’s schedule. It is the easiest way to donate a meal, and it also allows you to eat amazing food and hang out with your friends around St. Louis. Between downloading games and chat services, it takes up very little space on a smartphone, and it always makes me feel great when I use the app.

GiftAMeal continues to grow and gain local and national attention. This year, the app reached the very important milestone of donating over 100,000 meals to people in need in the local community, and they are hoping to donate over 250,000 by the end of this year. Going out to eat is something that most of us love to do, and if we can help others while enjoying a taco, well, why wouldn’t we?