Jack Griffin of FoodFinder
Profile Summary:
- Entrepreneur Name: Jack Griffin
- Venture Name: FoodFinder
- Impact Focus Area(s): Food Insecurity
- Business Stage (Ideation, Startup, Early, Later, Mature): Early
- Year Venture Established: 2014
- Business Type: Nonprofit
The Issue
Social entrepreneurship is about solving problems. Tell us about the challenge you are focused on addressing and why it is critical that we make progress.
“FoodFinder addresses the massive issue of childhood hunger in America and the information gap that exists between families looking for free food assistance and the providers of that assistance. Inaccurate information found online and the stigma surrounding poverty are the two greatest obstacles to learning about and receiving help from a food pantry or similar program. Despite how pervasive food insecurity is in the United States, very little has been done to modernize or streamline efforts to feed the 40 million people who are food insecure. This is especially true for the local pantries and shelters that are on the front lines of feeding those in need – not all of them have an online presence. While websites that compile information on these free food providers exist, they often include incomplete or outdated information that offers little value to a person looking for a place where they can receive food. We’re already at full employment in America, so if we want to move the needle on hunger, we’re going to need bigger and more innovative solutions so that families can always put food on the table.”
Your Journey
Entrepreneurship is a journey that requires connections and support from a wide array of stakeholders across the ecosystem to help successfully identify, start, and grow a social enterprise.
“Coalitions, partnerships, and collaborative efforts have propelled my work to where it is today. The education system is arguably our biggest ally since public schools house food insecure students, play a tremendous role in supporting those students through breakfast and free/reduced lunch, and are home to the first responders to hunger that FoodFinder also wants to reach. Community-building for FoodFinder can enable possibilities that are impossible for us to achieve by ourselves. Partnerships can result in things like our efforts with the Georgia Department of Education who has contacted every teacher and administrator of every public school in the state with information and a call to action regarding FoodFinder – 8 times now. Especially in the nonprofit world, competition and cynicism can creep into those trying to help others. But we’re all trying to help the same people, so that’s why I’m excited for FoodFinder’s ability to help everyone from individuals to state/federal entities.”
Why Georgia’s Social Impact Ecosystem Matters
Being an entrepreneur is hard and it’s even more challenging when you are a social entrepreneur as your business model and / or structure doesn’t follow the same path as traditional start-ups.
“FoodFinder is extremely grateful to be part of a new generation of social enterprises, one that innovates and develops new ways to help others without ever forgetting why we do it. For us, we don’t see being a highly efficient and effective startup as being mutually exclusive with being a kind, caring, and compassionate nonprofit. We strive to be both. As a result, our revenue mix should reflect that philosophy by having varied sources of income, ranging from large institutional partners like corporate foundations to unique opportunities for earned revenue where we can monetize our services while still fulfilling our mission. We’ll always have to fundraise. We’ll always have to raise more awareness of our work. But we’ll never get tired of doing so because we know better than anyone how much of a transformative impact our work can have.”
Interested in learning more about FoodFinder, please visit:
- Instagram: @foodfinderus
- Twitter: @FoodFinderUS
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FoodFinderUS/
- Website: https://foodfinder.us/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10326829/admin/
