0:00:00.829,0:00:03.400
In June of 2017,

0:00:03.400,0:00:06.987
I volunteered with a group[br]at a local food pantry

0:00:06.987,0:00:09.699
on the south side of my home city

0:00:09.699,0:00:11.110
in Atlanta, Georgia.

0:00:11.459,0:00:13.326
It was a Friday afternoon,

0:00:13.326,0:00:15.395
the day of their weekly food giveaway,

0:00:15.395,0:00:17.444
and as I drove up,

0:00:17.444,0:00:19.100
I saw people beginning to arrive,

0:00:19.100,0:00:20.943
many with their rolling carts in tow,

0:00:20.943,0:00:23.377
prepared to receive[br]their food supply for the week.

0:00:23.495,0:00:26.814
As I was walking in the door,[br]there were about 40 people outside

0:00:26.814,0:00:28.162
waiting in line,

0:00:28.162,0:00:30.435
and I was so excited

0:00:30.435,0:00:32.816
because there are very few things[br]I enjoy more than giving back.

0:00:32.816,0:00:37.080
But then, as I entered the room where[br]the volunteer meeting was taking place,

0:00:37.080,0:00:38.881
I immediately realized

0:00:38.881,0:00:41.239
we weren't about to give[br]these people any real meals.

0:00:41.239,0:00:43.833
We were essentially just giving them food.

0:00:43.833,0:00:45.899
I took my place on the assembly line,

0:00:45.899,0:00:46.735
where, get this,

0:00:46.735,0:00:49.955
I was in charge of making sure[br]that the Weight Watchers Ding Dongs

0:00:49.955,0:00:52.291
made it into every family's bag.

0:00:52.291,0:00:54.727
As the bags started to come around,

0:00:54.727,0:00:56.407
I'm thinking to myself,

0:00:56.407,0:00:58.352
what on earth are we doing here?

0:00:58.352,0:01:01.863
Each bag contained[br]two 20-ounce Diet Snapples,

0:01:01.863,0:01:04.108
a gallon of barbecue sauce,

0:01:04.108,0:01:06.589
a bag of kettle potato chips,

0:01:06.589,0:01:11.613
a box of superhero-shaped[br]vegetable-enriched macaroni noodles,

0:01:11.613,0:01:14.281
a box of Velveeta breakfast bars,

0:01:14.281,0:01:17.463
a can of refried beans,

0:01:17.463,0:01:18.454
a can of sweet peas,

0:01:18.454,0:01:20.017
a miniature can of corn,

0:01:20.017,0:01:22.029
I can't forget about those Ding Dongs,

0:01:22.029,0:01:23.796
and french fried green onions,

0:01:23.796,0:01:26.843
you know, the kind that go[br]on top of a green bean casserole.

0:01:26.867,0:01:28.565
And that was it.

0:01:28.732,0:01:31.184
We made over a hundred[br]of those bags that day,

0:01:31.184,0:01:34.162
and people indeed[br]stood in line to receive one,

0:01:34.162,0:01:36.016
but a feeling came over me.

0:01:36.016,0:01:38.576
I felt bad, and a little angry.

0:01:38.576,0:01:42.041
It was like, how could I even feel good[br]about the work that I was doing

0:01:42.041,0:01:44.479
when I knew for a fact[br]that not one meal was to come

0:01:44.479,0:01:47.567
from the food we had just given[br]to over 100 families.

0:01:47.765,0:01:51.560
I mean, who wants to have[br]a meal with barbecue sauce and Ding Dongs?

0:01:52.066,0:01:53.615
And the reality is,

0:01:53.615,0:01:55.972
I've been part[br]of this process all my life.

0:01:55.972,0:01:57.949
I've participated in food drives,

0:01:57.949,0:02:00.174
I've collected cans since I was a kid,

0:02:00.174,0:02:03.488
I've donated in the grocery store[br]more times than I can count,

0:02:03.488,0:02:06.642
I've volunteered at shelters,[br]I've worked in food pantries,

0:02:06.642,0:02:09.693
and I'm sure, like me,[br]so many of you have too.

0:02:09.889,0:02:13.555
In 2013, I even created[br]a pop-up restaurant

0:02:13.555,0:02:14.895
called Sunday Soul.

0:02:14.895,0:02:17.885
And I rented tables and chairs and linens

0:02:17.885,0:02:19.304
and I printed out menus

0:02:19.304,0:02:21.272
and I took these experiences to alleyways

0:02:21.272,0:02:23.375
underneath bridges and in parks

0:02:23.375,0:02:26.130
to allow people that were[br]experiencing homelessness

0:02:26.130,0:02:28.063
to dine with dignity.

0:02:28.063,0:02:31.567
So I've invested in this fight[br]for quite some time.

0:02:31.567,0:02:34.003
In almost every major US city,

0:02:34.003,0:02:37.868
the food bank is viewed[br]as a beloved community institution.

0:02:38.175,0:02:41.616
Corporations send volunteers[br]down on a weekly basis

0:02:41.616,0:02:45.027
to sort through food items[br]and make boxes of food for the needy.

0:02:45.466,0:02:46.729
And can drives,

0:02:46.729,0:02:50.345
they warm the hearts of schools[br]and office buildings that participate

0:02:50.345,0:02:54.476
and fill the shelves of food banks[br]and food pantries across the nation.

0:02:54.677,0:02:56.669
This is how we work to end hunger.

0:02:56.669,0:02:58.531
And what I've come to realize

0:02:58.531,0:03:00.560
is that we are doing hunger wrong.

0:03:00.560,0:03:02.283
We are doing the same things

0:03:02.283,0:03:05.037
over and over and over again

0:03:05.037,0:03:07.259
and expecting a different end result.

0:03:07.792,0:03:09.395
We've created a cycle

0:03:09.395,0:03:13.337
that keeps people dependent on food banks[br]and pantries on a monthly basis

0:03:13.337,0:03:15.676
for food that is often not well-balanced

0:03:15.676,0:03:18.436
and certainly doesn't provide them[br]with a healthy meal.

0:03:18.952,0:03:21.743
In the US, our approach to doing good,

0:03:21.743,0:03:23.244
or what we call charity,

0:03:23.244,0:03:25.974
has actually hindered us[br]from making real progress.

0:03:25.974,0:03:29.653
We're educating the world[br]on how many people are food insecure.

0:03:29.653,0:03:31.387
There are television commercials,

0:03:31.387,0:03:32.424
billboards,

0:03:32.424,0:03:33.846
massive donations,

0:03:33.846,0:03:36.798
the engagement of some[br]of our biggest celebrities in the fight,

0:03:36.798,0:03:39.254
but the ever-present reality is that,

0:03:39.254,0:03:40.894
even with all of this work,

0:03:40.894,0:03:43.203
millions of people are still going hungry,

0:03:43.203,0:03:44.838
and we can do better.

0:03:44.838,0:03:47.753
Globally, 821 million people are hungry.

0:03:48.086,0:03:51.311
That's one in nine people on this planet.

0:03:51.311,0:03:52.947
And here in the United States,

0:03:52.947,0:03:56.548
nearly 40 million people[br]experience hunger every single year,

0:03:56.548,0:03:58.750
including more than 11 million children

0:03:58.750,0:04:00.783
that go to bed hungry every night.

0:04:00.783,0:04:03.247
Yet we're wasting more food[br]than ever before,

0:04:03.247,0:04:05.642
more than 80 billion pounds a year,

0:04:05.642,0:04:07.492
to be exact.

0:04:07.492,0:04:11.564
The EPA estimates that food waste[br]has more than doubled

0:04:11.564,0:04:13.919
between 1970 and 2017,

0:04:13.919,0:04:17.702
and now accounts for 27 percent[br]of everything in our landfills,

0:04:17.702,0:04:19.231
and as this food sits,

0:04:19.231,0:04:20.461
it gradually rots

0:04:20.461,0:04:22.557
and produces harmful methane gas,

0:04:22.557,0:04:25.543
a leading contributor[br]to global climate change.

0:04:25.543,0:04:27.404
We have the waste of the food itself,

0:04:27.404,0:04:31.292
the waste of all the money associated[br]with producing this now-wasted food,

0:04:31.292,0:04:34.343
and the waste of labor[br]with all of the above.

0:04:34.343,0:04:36.886
And then there's the social inequity

0:04:36.886,0:04:39.818
between people who really[br]need food and can't get it

0:04:39.818,0:04:42.941
and people who have too much[br]and simply throw it away.

0:04:42.941,0:04:45.190
All of this made me realize

0:04:45.190,0:04:47.250
that hunger was not an issue of scarcity,

0:04:47.250,0:04:49.412
but rather a matter of logistics.

0:04:49.412,0:04:53.691
So in 2017, I set out[br]to end hunger using technology.

0:04:54.183,0:04:58.076
After all, food delivery acts[br]had begun to explode on the scene,

0:04:58.076,0:05:01.715
and I thought surely we can[br]reverse-engineer this technology

0:05:01.715,0:05:04.981
and get food from businesses[br]like restaurants and grocery stores

0:05:04.981,0:05:08.176
and into the hands of people in need.

0:05:08.176,0:05:09.830
I believe that technology and innovation

0:05:09.830,0:05:11.789
have the power to solve real problems,

0:05:11.789,0:05:14.009
especially hunger.

0:05:14.009,0:05:17.316
So in 2017, I created an app

0:05:17.316,0:05:19.617
that would inventory everything[br]it is that a business sells

0:05:19.617,0:05:22.422
and make it super-easy for them[br]to donate this excess food

0:05:22.422,0:05:25.780
that would typically go to waste[br]at the end of the night.

0:05:25.780,0:05:27.545
All the user has to do now[br]is click on an item,

0:05:27.545,0:05:29.477
tell us how many they have to donate,

0:05:29.477,0:05:32.003
and our platform calculates[br]the weight and the tax value

0:05:32.003,0:05:33.964
of those items at time of donation.

0:05:33.964,0:05:37.051
We then connect with local drivers[br]in the shared economy

0:05:37.051,0:05:39.597
to get this food picked up[br]and delivered directly to the door

0:05:39.597,0:05:42.608
of the non-profit organizations[br]and people in need.

0:05:42.608,0:05:44.437
I provided the data

0:05:44.437,0:05:47.088
and the analytics to help business[br]reduce food waste at the source

0:05:47.088,0:05:50.564
by letting them know that the items[br]that they waste repeatdly

0:05:50.564,0:05:51.777
on a regular basis,

0:05:51.777,0:05:53.703
and they even saved millions of dollars.

0:05:53.703,0:05:55.332
Our mission was simple:

0:05:55.332,0:05:58.088
feed more, waste less.

0:05:58.088,0:06:01.583
And by 2018, our clients included[br]the world's busiest airport,

0:06:01.583,0:06:03.317
Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson,

0:06:03.317,0:06:06.035
and we were working[br]with brands and corporations

0:06:06.035,0:06:08.938
like Hormel, Chick-fil-A, and Papa John's.

0:06:08.938,0:06:13.537
We even had the opportunity[br]to work with the NFL for Super Bowl LIII.

0:06:13.537,0:06:16.413
And over the last two years,[br]we've worked with over 200 business

0:06:16.413,0:06:20.108
to divert more than two million pounds[br]of edible food from landfills

0:06:20.108,0:06:22.418
into the hands of people[br]that needed it most.

0:06:22.418,0:06:24.750
(Applause)

0:06:24.750,0:06:26.446
Thank you.

0:06:31.478,0:06:35.315
This has accounted[br]for about 1.7 million meals

0:06:35.315,0:06:38.477
and allowed us to start to expand[br]our efforts to other cities,

0:06:38.477,0:06:41.894
like Washington, DC, Chicago,[br]Miami, Philadelphia, and more.

0:06:41.894,0:06:44.977
That's just one approach[br]that actually tackles the problem.

0:06:44.977,0:06:47.700
Another was the launch[br]of our pop-up grocery stores.

0:06:47.700,0:06:50.476
We recover excess food from businesses

0:06:50.476,0:06:53.830
and set up free community grocery stores[br]right in the middle of food deserts.

0:06:53.830,0:06:55.166
We bring out a chef

0:06:55.166,0:06:59.057
and we do on-site taste-testings and allow[br]families to leave with recipe cards.

0:06:59.057,0:07:01.904
We give every family reusable grocery bags[br]and allow to simply shop

0:07:01.904,0:07:05.013
minus the price tag.

0:07:05.013,0:07:08.497
We wanted to give people access to meals

0:07:08.700,0:07:09.536
and not just food.

0:07:09.536,0:07:13.339
We wanted to change the way that we think[br]and work to solve hunger in this country,

0:07:13.339,0:07:15.264
get people to believe[br]that we can solve hunger,

0:07:15.264,0:07:18.133
not as a non-profit, not as a food bank,

0:07:18.133,0:07:20.068
but as a social enterprise

0:07:20.068,0:07:22.643
with the goal of reducing waste[br]and ending hunger.

0:07:22.643,0:07:24.594
But it hasn't been as easy as I thought

0:07:24.594,0:07:26.998
to change the narrative[br]and the thought process

0:07:26.998,0:07:29.916
on how we think that hunger can be solved.

0:07:29.916,0:07:33.646
In 2016, France became the first country

0:07:33.646,0:07:36.156
to ban supermarkets[br]from throwing away unused food.

0:07:36.156,0:07:37.955
Instead, they must donate it,

0:07:37.955,0:07:39.915
and they're fined if they don't.

0:07:39.915,0:07:40.947
Yes.

0:07:40.947,0:07:44.592
(Applause)

0:07:44.592,0:07:47.161
In 2017, Italy followed suit,

0:07:47.161,0:07:49.035
becoming the second European nation

0:07:49.035,0:07:51.491
to pass an anti-food waste ban,

0:07:51.491,0:07:54.694
and they stated it so simply[br]as it was passed through legislation:

0:07:54.694,0:07:57.989
we have millions of pounds[br]of good food going to waste

0:07:57.989,0:08:00.137
and we have poor people[br]that are going hungry.

0:08:00.137,0:08:01.553
That simple.

0:08:01.553,0:08:04.617
Denmark now has a mandated[br]food waste grocery store.

0:08:04.617,0:08:06.354
It's named Wefood.

0:08:06.354,0:08:09.130
They recover excess food[br]from local grocery stores

0:08:09.130,0:08:12.157
and sell it at up to[br]a 50 percent off discount.

0:08:12.157,0:08:16.583
They then use all the proceeds[br]and donate it to emergency aid programs

0:08:16.583,0:08:19.604
and social need issues[br]for the people in need.

0:08:19.604,0:08:22.996
It has been hailed as[br]"the Goodwill of grocery."

0:08:22.996,0:08:27.177
And last year, the world got its first[br]pay-what-you-can grocery store

0:08:27.177,0:08:29.531
when Feed it Forward opened in Toronto.

0:08:29.531,0:08:33.796
Their shelves remain stocked[br]by recovering excess food

0:08:33.796,0:08:37.790
from major supermarkets and allowing[br]families to simply pay what they can

0:08:37.790,0:08:39.860
at the grocery store.

0:08:39.860,0:08:41.685
This is amazing.

0:08:41.685,0:08:44.818
This innovation we need more of.

0:08:44.818,0:08:49.841
Every can take on the roles of changing[br]the attitudes of how we solve hunger.

0:08:49.841,0:08:53.097
When we think of how we've allowed[br]innovation and technology

0:08:53.097,0:08:54.538
to change our lives,

0:08:54.538,0:08:55.946
from how we communicate with each other

0:08:55.946,0:08:58.671
to how we view our entertainment

0:08:58.671,0:09:00.004
to how we even receive food,

0:09:00.004,0:09:02.851
it's amazing that we haven't[br]solved hunger yet.

0:09:02.851,0:09:05.364
We literally have cars[br]that can drive themselves

0:09:05.364,0:09:08.038
and millions of people[br]that cannot feed themselves.

0:09:08.038,0:09:11.576
With millions of dollars being donated[br]to end food insecurity,

0:09:11.576,0:09:13.773
we should've solved hunger years ago,

0:09:13.773,0:09:15.148
and I asked myself --

0:09:15.148,0:09:17.477
(Applause)

0:09:19.621,0:09:22.923
I asked myself, why can't we[br]escape this vicious cycle?

0:09:22.923,0:09:25.157
Why haven't we solved this problem?

0:09:25.157,0:09:27.606
I remember meeting with investors[br]and pitching the idea,

0:09:27.606,0:09:29.384
trying to raise funds for my business,

0:09:29.384,0:09:31.999
and one of them said to me[br]in true seriousness,

0:09:31.999,0:09:34.720
"Hunger is already being solved,"

0:09:34.720,0:09:37.873
as if millions of people weren't going[br]to go to bed hungry that very night

0:09:37.873,0:09:39.708
and as if there was nothing else to do.

0:09:39.708,0:09:40.810
And the reality is,

0:09:40.810,0:09:42.951
one would think[br]that hunger is being solved,

0:09:42.951,0:09:44.970
but the truth is it's being worked on.

0:09:44.970,0:09:47.312
If we really want to solve hunger,

0:09:47.312,0:09:49.192
then we have to change[br]the way we've been doing it.

0:09:49.192,0:09:52.679
The same actions will always[br]garner the same results.

0:09:52.679,0:09:55.311
There are hundreds of social[br]entrepreneurs all over the world.

0:09:55.311,0:09:58.615
They have a focus to solve[br]really big problems, like hunger,

0:09:58.615,0:10:01.267
but they'll never get the same support

0:10:01.267,0:10:04.666
that we give national hunger-fighting[br]organizations and food banks.

0:10:04.666,0:10:06.918
But, if given the opportunity,

0:10:06.918,0:10:09.509
they have the ability to foster insight

0:10:09.509,0:10:11.410
and perhaps be forward-thinking enough

0:10:11.410,0:10:12.697
to solve this problem.

0:10:12.697,0:10:14.478
That's why I'm traveling the world

0:10:14.478,0:10:16.965
and I'm really talking about[br]what hunger looks like in America

0:10:16.965,0:10:19.873
and explaining the difference between[br]giving people access to food

0:10:19.873,0:10:21.659
and access to meals.

0:10:21.659,0:10:23.630
I've been meeting[br]with city council members

0:10:23.630,0:10:25.945
and city organizers across the US

0:10:25.945,0:10:29.646
and telling them that technology[br]indeed does have the power

0:10:29.646,0:10:31.548
to connect businesses with surplus food

0:10:31.548,0:10:32.608
to people in need,

0:10:32.608,0:10:35.732
and explaining to them[br]what a meal can actually mean to a family.

0:10:36.129,0:10:38.399
I've been meeting with school boards[br]and school districts

0:10:38.399,0:10:40.980
to talk about how we feed hungry children,

0:10:40.980,0:10:42.351
and health care organizations,

0:10:42.351,0:10:44.343
sharing the message that food is health

0:10:44.343,0:10:45.633
and food is life

0:10:45.633,0:10:49.236
and that, by solving hunger,[br]we can solve so many more problems.

0:10:49.696,0:10:51.230
So if we want to know

0:10:51.230,0:10:53.150
that we don't live in a nation

0:10:53.150,0:10:55.126
where perfectly good food goes to waste

0:10:55.126,0:10:57.505
when our neighbors don't have food to eat,

0:10:57.505,0:10:59.557
then we need to change the laws.

0:10:59.557,0:11:01.342
We need to introduce new policies,

0:11:01.342,0:11:04.985
and, most importantly, we need to change[br]our minds and our actions.

0:11:04.985,0:11:06.417
Food drives are fine.

0:11:06.417,0:11:08.672
Food banks serve a huge purpose.

0:11:08.672,0:11:11.877
And yes, sometimes I like Ding Dongs too.

0:11:11.877,0:11:14.899
But the reality is that food drives[br]do not solve hunger,

0:11:14.899,0:11:17.229
and if we are smart[br]about connecting the dots

0:11:17.229,0:11:19.377
that are right in front of our noses,

0:11:19.377,0:11:21.117
we can do far more than give a family

0:11:21.117,0:11:22.961
a box of superhero-shaped[br]vegetable-enriched macaroni noodles

0:11:22.961,0:11:25.346
and a gallon of barbecue sauce[br]to feed themselves.

0:11:25.346,0:11:30.168
Instead, we can[br]give them back their dignity.

0:11:30.168,0:11:34.054
Perhaps we can increase[br]school attendance in schools.

0:11:34.054,0:11:36.623
We can improve the health[br]outcomes for millions.

0:11:36.623,0:11:40.375
And, most importantly, we can reduce[br]food waste in our landfills

0:11:40.375,0:11:42.808
creating a better[br]environment for all of us.

0:11:42.808,0:11:46.744
The thing I love most is that[br]we can feel good about it in the process.

0:11:46.744,0:11:48.316
If we solve hunger,

0:11:48.316,0:11:50.804
we have nothing to lose[br]and everything to gain,

0:11:50.804,0:11:51.886
so let's do it.

0:11:51.886,0:11:53.391
Thank you.

0:11:53.391,0:11:56.663
(Applause)

0:11:56.663,0:11:58.076
Thank you.