Schulich Ted X speaker aims to end world hunger

Claire Liang iBBA 2017
Claire Liang

Claire Liang (iBBA ‘17) considers herself a socially-responsible foodie.

In 2014 alone, over $31 billion worth of food was thrown out in Canada. Her startup FUUDY aspires to assist in the fight to end world hunger and food waste by redistributing surplus food through technologically advanced sharing fridge. As Canada’s first tech-based non-profit in this area, they have a big domestic challenge with 1.3 million households experiencing food insecurity.

“Having seen people searching for food in the garbage bin, I am grateful to be born without the stress of worrying about hunger,” said Liang. “It’s our mission to lead positive change, and we realized there was no effective solution for hunger that is sustainable. So, our company came up the idea to combine technology and the recently-emerged community fridge model to help alleviate the problem.”

Starting in Toronto, FUUDY plans to launch the first fridge in 2018 with a strategy to grow internationally with partners in the United Kingdom and China.

The idea to tackle this world issue did not come overnight. It was Liang’s time at Schulich that helped develop the idea as she credits the School for helping her think outside the box to tackle broad social issues.

“Schulich has encouraged me to think critically and innovatively while equipping me with the skills to turn ideas into practical solutions,” Liang said. “As a Schulich student, we’re encouraged to think disruptively, challenge the status-quo, and to tackle problems at the system level.”

Liang has already received notable supporters from around Canada and was featured as a TEDx speaker at Lancaster University in England while on an exchange. You can also support FUUDY on their website.