Based out of Rome, Italy through the United Nations World Food Programme, Freerice is an organization that prides itself on two very noble mission statements:
1. “Provide education to everyone for free.”
2. “Help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free.”
If you haven’t already heard of it, Freerice is a website that allows you to answer a variety of questions concerning a variety of subjects and for every question you answer correctly, you are awarded ten grains of rice. Those ten grains of rice are then immediately donated to a designated country where there are rampant food shortages due to natural disasters, heavy economic turmoil and things of that sort. The rice is paid for by the ads that are presented in a banner format every time you answer a question correctly.
John Breen founded Freerice back in 2007 and has made unbelievable strides in his attempt to help cure world hunger. Since Breen first started, the Freerice website has fed over 66,000 school children in Uganda, 108,000 Bhutanese refugees in Nepal, and 750,000 cyclone victims in Myanmar. Freerice’s most recent focus is providing rice for Cambodia, where more than 13,500 women have been given aid in the quest to end world hunger. On top of the donation, cleverly enough, Freerice has ensured that the respective country receiving the rice actually distributes the rice locally. They are given the money to dish the rice out to their citizens, thus creating a small stimulus for their economy while cutting out the transportation cost of distributing the rice. I’ve got to be honest, this whole situation is completely genius. 
With various question topics and subjects to choose from, ranging from SAT: Test Prep all the way to learning Italian, it’s obvious that this Freerice not only supports a fantastic cause, but also manages to promote self-improvement along the way.
I was in 9th grade when I first heard about this website and being told that if I gathered 10,000 grains, I could receive an extra few points on some Shakespeare test or something ridiculous. Now, when I’m sitting in my 7:25 am class trying not to fall asleep, I just pop open an extra tab and brush up on some vocab to get my day started. How many websites out there give you the chance to support such an incredible cause while gaining some valuable knowledge completely free of cost? Freerice is definitely one of the few, and I have to say, it’s a damn good deal.
If you’re not going to hold the door open for the stranger behind you as you leave your next class, try taking a crack at doing another stranger a favor. Make a few clicks and give him or her a meal for the day.
Featured photo courtesy of: The Hunger Site
