ShareTheMeal

ShareTheMeal

app

Everyone, 2015, Lifestyle

WISE
86%

WISE Score

4.9

App Store

Turn your kid's screen time into meal time for hungry families—the UN's charity app that makes giving as easy as ordering pizza.

Screenwise Verdict

This is what we want kids' apps to look like—purposeful, educational, and genuinely good for the world.

ShareTheMeal turns abstract concepts like 'global hunger' into something tangible: 80 cents feeds a child for a day. The app is beautifully simple, backed by a legitimate international organization, and teaches kids that technology can be a force for positive change. It's not gamified or manipulative; it's just straightforward charitable giving with excellent transparency.

The educational value is substantial. Kids learn about geography, inequality, international aid, and the mechanics of how donations work. They see photos and updates from the field. They understand that their small action, combined with others, creates massive impact.

The only real consideration is that it involves actual money, so you'll need to be involved—but that's also the point. It's a fantastic opportunity to talk about family values around giving, budgeting for charity, and evaluating where to direct resources. Some families might want to discuss cost-effectiveness (other charities claim lower per-meal costs), which is actually a great conversation to have with older kids.

Bottom line: If you're looking for an app that does exactly what it says, teaches genuine values, and might actually make your kid a better global citizen, this is it.

Age Fit

Best for ages 8+ who can grasp global issues and the concept of charitable giving. Younger kids (6-7) can participate with heavy parent involvement, while teens can use it independently to develop their own philanthropic values. Adults will appreciate the transparency and ease of giving.

WISE Breakdown
Wholesome
95

Models compassion, generosity, and global citizenship in the most direct way possible—helping feed hungry families with a few taps. The app creates positive emotional experiences around charitable giving without manipulation or guilt-tripping. It's fundamentally about kindness and cooperation on a global scale.

Imaginative
65

While the app doesn't invite creative expression or building in the traditional sense, it does open kids' minds to global issues, geography, and the concept that individual actions can create collective impact. The ability to see exactly where donations go and create community challenges adds some interactive dimension, but it's ultimately a straightforward donation interface rather than an imaginative experience.

Safe
92

Extremely safe—it's a charity app from the UN World Food Programme (2020 Nobel Peace Prize winner) with transparent operations. Web search confirms legitimacy and trustworthiness. No ads, no inappropriate content, no social features that could expose kids to strangers. The only minor concern is that it involves real financial transactions, so parental oversight is needed, but that's inherent to its purpose.

Enriching
88

Highly enriching—teaches empathy, global awareness, and the practical mechanics of charitable giving. Kids learn about world hunger, inequality, climate change, and how solutions work at scale. The transparency (seeing where donations go and who they help) provides real educational value about international aid and global citizenship. It's skill-building in financial literacy and ethical decision-making.

Parent Info

Why It Might Be Great

  • Teaches real-world empathy and charitable giving in the most concrete way possible—tap a button, feed a person
  • Backed by the UN World Food Programme (2020 Nobel Peace Prize winner), so it's legit and transparent about where money goes
  • Creates positive associations with technology and money—screens can be tools for good, not just consumption
  • Shows kids the power of collective action through community challenges and tracking 200+ million meals shared
  • Award-winning app (Google Play Best Apps 2020, Best Social Impact 2017) with a clean, age-appropriate interface

What to Watch For

  • Requires parental supervision since it involves real money—set clear boundaries about donation amounts and frequency
  • May raise heavy questions about global inequality and hunger that younger kids might find overwhelming without context
  • Cost-effectiveness debate exists (some charities claim lower cost-per-meal), so it's worth discussing charity evaluation with older kids

Conversation Starters

  • "If you could skip one meal and give that money to someone who's hungry, would you? What would that feel like?"
  • "Why do you think some parts of the world have too much food while others don't have enough?"
  • "How does it make you feel to see exactly where your donation went and who it helped?"
  • "What other problems in the world do you think could be solved if lots of people did small things together?"

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