The idea for Food Connect grew out of a conver- sation with some people Ms. Kulshreshtha met at an event in Philadelphia several years ago. “We were brainstorming the issue of extra food going to waste when there are so many people in Philadelphia who need food,” she says. She was working in the financial field at the time and understood the power of technology, so she de- cided to find a way to use that power to attack the food problem. “I don’t think of myself as the one inventor of Food Connect. It was a group effort,” says Ms. Kulshreshtha, who has the title of founder and executive director. She was just 26 years old when the program started. The Food Connect app works like this: If a restau- rant or food vendor has extra food (things never served to customers), it clicks on the Food Con- nect app. The restaurant indicates what it has to donate, what size vehicle is needed to transport the food, and where and when it can be picked up. The app makes a match with a community organization, such as a homeless shelter or food pantry. The restaurant is notified what time the pickup will occur and when the driver is close by. The process is as simple as ordering a ride from Uber or Lyft. Megha Kulshreshtha Connecting people with food Megha Kulshreshtha was 4 years old when she and her family came to the United States from India with $40, collectively, in their pockets. She learned from her parents how to make the most out of a few dollars while still finding ways to be helpful to others going through rough times. “No matter how little you had, there was always enough to give more to those around you,” she recalls. That childhood lesson stuck with Ms. Kulshreshtha when she launched Food Connect. The Philadelphia organization uses a smartphone app to connect restaurants that have extra food to community groups that provide food to people in need. With a few simple clicks on the app, a restaurant can do- nate food it otherwise would throw away to a pantry or homeless shelter that can put it to good use. Since Food Connect was launched in 2014, it has distributed the equivalent of more than 300,000 meals throughout Philadelphia. More than 400 restaurants and food vendors use the app. 14