foodtweeks and Blue Ridge Area Food Bank Band Together in Fight Against Hunger

    STAMFORD, CT, June 19, 2014 /24-7PressRelease/ -- foodtweeks, the free app, and Blue Ridge Area Food Bank of Verona, VA have joined forces to use this interactive technology that combines weight management with feeding the hungry. foodtweeks continues to add to its list of affiliated food banks who will benefit from the use of the app.

In order for the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank to receive these donations, a foodtweeks user simply needs to report "tweeking" (saving calories in recipes or restaurants), enabling the food bank to distribute an equal number of nutritious calories to families. To boost the power of the user, sharing a "tweek" on Facebook or Twitter doubles or triples each donation to a food bank.

"We share a similar goal in encouraging nutrition and the fight against hunger. foodtweeks helps users make small adjustments to their diet and consume fewer calories on a daily basis. A couple days of 'tweeking' will help us to provide a full nutritious meal to a hungry family," said Ruth Jones, Director of Communications, BlueRidge Area Food Bank.

foodtweeks makes it possible to cut calories from meals everyday. The calories saved using the app will be redistributed to food banks that provide healthy meals to families in need in our communities.. Engaging communities with the foodtweeksTM app is not taxing in time or money, but instead allows users to incorporate doing good into their daily routines. This type of accomplishment is not unusual for Walker Health Labs, designers of surprising commercial solutions that also make a difference for big social problems.

"foodtweeks is proud and excited to support the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank," said Elisa Shannon, foodtweeks Executive Vice President of Partnership Development. " Blue Ridge Area Food Bank is a highly committed and respected organization that provides outstanding service to food-insecure members of the Virginia community."

The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank distributes more than 18 million meals annually to hungry families in western and central Virginia. With a growing need and the slow donation season approaching, ironically when it is needed most by parents who no longer have school lunches to help with their food costs, foodtweeks will provide a critical boost to donations.

"The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank is pleased to partner with foodtweeks and provide our supporters with another effortless way to combat hunger," said Michael McKee, CEO of the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank.

foodtweeks users simply tell the app what food they are thinking of buying, eating or preparing, and the app instantly displays images of suggested "tweeks" that remove enough calories to make a positive difference - but not in a way that changes the taste or leaves users hungry. The app can be applied to national chain restaurants, grocery store purchases and homemade dishes with the crowd-sourced picture database of more than 44,000 small changes that show users how to "tweek."

foodtweeks is rapidly expanding its partner-base to food banks all across the nation, with more joining each week, said Ms. Shannon, herself a former food bank executive. Food banks that wish to affiliate with foodtweeks may contact Ms. Shannon by email at [email protected].

Jay Walker, the inventor of foodtweeks, is also the chairman of Patent Properties and curator of TEDMED, the health and medicine edition of the famous TED conference. A noted entrepreneur, Mr. Walker has founded three companies that serve more than 50 million customers. He is best known as the creator of Priceline, which brought a new level of value to the travel industry.

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foodtweeks is a free mobile phone app that helps people better manage their weight while feeding the hungry. Its goal is to change the way people view their food while ending food insecurity in the United States.

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