Denver, CO
A Denver entrepreneur’s new app connects neighbors with extra food to people in need
When John Akinboyewa studied at the Colorado School of Mines for his engineering degrees, he recalled digging in the couch for change to afford a 99-cent meal at Taco Bell or McDonald’s — coming to $1.08 with tax.
“I remember that number so vividly,” he said. His very next thought: “There is pizza or a sandwich or cookies somewhere on this campus that is fastly approaching the trash can.”
That college experience sparked the idea for a new app called Hungree. And in the last year, Akinboyewa, a 39-year-old Denver resident, and his three team members have brought his vision to life.
The free app follows a basic premise: A user in a small geographic area who wants to get rid of a food item can post it for another user to request and then pick up. Restaurants, food banks and other sizable providers can connect with individuals, and neighbors can link with neighbors.
Users can share either with the public or solely within their own “villages,” which are limited to specific groups like religious organizations or homeowners associations.
The app can be used to arrange very small-scale and extremely large-scale food distribution, Akinboyewa added. If an office staffer has 25 leftover sandwiches after an event, then that user can post the food items in their village and alert others to the surplus.
But to work effectively, the app needs a balance of both providers and users.
He’s developed the app to protect user privacy, keep track of food donations, avoid lines at food pickups and more. In its beta phase, the app granted access to 500 invite-only users across six cities in four countries — the U.S., Nigeria, Colombia and the United Kingdom — before expanding to nearly 1,000 users, Akinboyewa said.
Soon, his team plans to permit tens of thousands of users through several university, community and business partnerships, he said.
The app is available now on Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store, using an invite code: HUNGREE500.
For Akinboyewa, who was born in Nigeria and resided in London before immigrating to the U.S., the Hungree app is a way to fight hunger and curb food waste. In the places he’s lived, he’s seen the struggle of food insecurity.
Now, he’s watching his strategy work in real time. A local steakhouse manager listed leftover meals on the app — three servings of steak and vegetables — and another user picked them up to hand out to people experiencing homelessness, Akinboyewa said.
“I love solving problems,” said Akinboyewa, who has a background as a consultant in the oil and gas industry. “Sometimes, the simple solution is actually what works.”
To take his app to the next level, Akinboyewa hopes to garner institutional and organizational support. He’s discussed the idea with leaders at the University of Colorado Boulder who are in charge of off-campus housing, which could result in thousands of students accessing the app.
Akinboyewa wants to connect with local businesses and feature them on the app, too. He’s looking for financial backing that lets him roll it out on a larger scale.
Hungree’s nonprofit status was approved by the state on Monday. But the organization’s technology branch is for-profit, with plans to make money through investors and a business model that will eventually let users pay for enhanced features, Akinboyewa said.
“I’ll be sincere about something: Being Black in tech, you’re not connected to the right communities to help get the funding,” he said.
Still, he’s seeing progress globally. And in the next few weeks, a major update will bring multilingual support to the app, expanding beyond English to add Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian and Turkish.
Akinboyewa’s hope: “In five to seven years, we want half a billion people on there,” he said. “There are big dreams to this.”
Get more Colorado news by signing up for our daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter.
Originally Published:
Denver, CO
What drivers will face traveling into mountains near Denver on I-70 amid Floyd Hill bridge building
Drivers heading west from metro Denver into the mountains on Interstate 70 on Monday and Tuesday face overnight closures, and 20-minute stops through Thursday at the base of Floyd Hill, the latest traffic disruptions for bridge building as part of the Colorado Department of Transportation’s $800 million reconstruction of I-70 through Clear Creek Canyon.
The nighttime closures this week, scheduled from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m., are planned around the I-70/U.S. 6 interchange at exit 244 and include on- and off-ramps.
Drivers also should expect to wait at 20-minute stops multiple times per day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on I-70 starting Monday, and continuing through Thursday, according to a CDOT notice.
But officials said there would be no planned traffic disruptions during the holidays from Dec. 20 to Jan. 5.
CDOT contractors will be blasting rock in the canyon above eastbound and westbound I-70 between the Veterans Memorial Tunnels and the Homestead Road interchange near Idaho Springs. And drivers may face intermittent traffic stops along the Central City Parkway, County Road 314, U.S. 6, and U.S. 40, CDOT officials said.
CDOT contractors are building a temporary framework to support their upcoming construction of a concrete bridge on I-70. When it’s done, the bridge will carry westbound drivers through a new route that CDOT officials say will be safer and improve traffic flows through the canyon, which long has loomed as a bottleneck.
The rebuilt highway, with an added westbound express toll lane, eventually will carry drivers through a widened canyon on viaducts 115 feet above Clear Creek. This safer route, designed to improve visibility for drivers, is expected to allow speeds of 55 miles per hour in areas now marked 45 mph.
Depending on the weather this week, disruptive construction work may shift to Wednesday and Thursday, CDOT officials said.
The I-70 Floyd Hill Project involves about eight miles of I-70 in the mountainous area between Evergreen and the eastern edge of Idaho Springs. CDOT officials have promised that, as part of the project, they’ll improve the Clear Creek Greenway trail and ensure safer routes for wildlife.
Construction began in July 2023. The project is expected to conclude in 2029.
Drivers learn more by calling CDOT at 720-994-2368 or by texting floydhill to 21000 and signing up for text alerts. CDOT officials also said information about weather, road conditions, and travel impacts is available at COtrip.org.
The Green Bay Packers (9-4-1) dropped from first to second in the NFC North and from the second seed to the seventh seed in the NFC after losing to the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
Significant injuries suffered against the Broncos will mean lasting implications are felt past Sunday. The Packers are also now a long shot to catch the Los Angeles Rams for the No. 1 seed in the NFC, and it’ll take a win next Saturday night in Chicago to retake control in the NFC North.
But the Packers are still in a good spot in terms of making the postseason field, especially after the Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys all lost on Sunday.
NFC playoff picture after Week 15
- Los Angeles Rams (11-3, 6-3 vs. NFC)
- Chicago Bears (10-4, 6-3 vs. NFC)
- Philadelphia Eagles (9-5, 7-3 vs. NFC)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-7, 5-5 vs. NFC)
- Seattle Seahawks (11-3, 6-3 vs. NFC)
- San Francisco 49ers (10-4, 8-2 vs. NFC)
- Green Bay Packers (9-4-1, 7-2-1 vs. NFC)
Others: Lions (8-6), Panthers (7-7), Cowboys (6-7-1)
According to The Athletic’s NFL playoff simulator, the Packers have a 92 percent chance of making the postseason with three weeks to go. They become all but guaranteed of a playoff spot if they can beat the Bears in Chicago in Week 16. In fact, just one win over the final three weeks could be enough for the Packers to get in.
The NFC North winner looks like a coinflip. The Athletic’s model gives the Packers a 48 percent chance of winning the division right now, and it would go up to 82 percent with a win over the Bears on Saturday. Chicago took down the Cleveland Browns with ease in bitter cold temps at Soldier Field on Sunday.
The Athletic’s model also gives the Packers a 98 percent chance of being the No. 2 seed if Matt LaFleur’s team can win out. That will be much easier said than done without Micah Parsons (and potentially Christian Watson) down the stretch.
Two very possibilities for the Packers: Win the NFC North and host the Bears in the NFC Wild Card Round, or get in as the No. 7 seed and go to Chicago to play the Bears in the NFC Wild Card Round. A third round of the rivalry is increasingly possible in January.
Packers remaining games
Nothing easy here. The Bears, Ravens and Vikings all won Sunday. The Bears and Ravens won comfortably; the Vikings upset the Cowboys — who desperately needed to win — in Dallas. The Bears and Ravens are both playing to win division titles. The Vikings are a dangerously talented spoiler team, and winning at U.S. Bank Stadium is never easy. The Athletic’s model gives the Packers roughly a 40 percent chance of making the postseason even with an 0-3 finish. The Lions are the biggest threat to pass the Packers in the event they finish 0-3.
It appears the Packers can clinch a playoff spot next week with a win over the Bears and a Steelers win over the Lions.
It’s time for the AFC’s #1 team to meet the NFC’s #2. Today the Denver Broncos host the Green Bay Packers in a key late-season inter-conference matchup that could have playoff seeding implications for both teams.
In Denver, the Broncos will be trying to hold on to the top spot in the AFC and keep their impressive win streak rolling. Denver has won ten straight games, some of them in fairly ridiculous fashion, but they sit at 11-2, sharing the top record in the NFL with the New England Patriots, who are just behind them in the playoff picture based on conference record.
The Packers, meanwhile, want to hold on to the lead in the NFC North before they have their rematch with the Chicago Bears next Saturday night. Green Bay sits behind only the Los Angeles Rams in the playoff race in the NFC, and they want to return to the Central time zone with that lead intact.
Join us here at Acme Packing Company to discuss today’s game, and Go Pack Go!
Florida mom says teens ‘lured’ 14-year-old daughter into woods before shooting, setting her on fire: report
Watchdog group hits Letitia James with bar complaint after federal judge tosses case
‘Love being a pedo’: Metro Detroit doctor, attorney, therapist accused in web of child porn chats
This Week: E-Bikes, Happy Hour, Holiday Lights – Streetsblog San Francisco
81-year-old North Texas trailblazer to graduate from UNT Dallas
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
Video: Rob Reiner and His Wife Are Found Dead in Their Los Angeles Home
Biden officials go silent when asked about Afghan refugee program after guardsmen shooting
South Korea indicts ex-leader Yoon over power plot provoking North
BBC Verify: Videos show impact of mass drone attacks launched by Ukraine and Russia
Bill and Hillary Clinton’s Stance on Epstein Testimony Nov. 3
-
Alaska1 week agoHowling Mat-Su winds leave thousands without power
-
Texas1 week agoTexas Tech football vs BYU live updates, start time, TV channel for Big 12 title
-
Washington6 days agoLIVE UPDATES: Mudslide, road closures across Western Washington
-
Iowa1 week agoMatt Campbell reportedly bringing longtime Iowa State staffer to Penn State as 1st hire
-
Iowa2 days agoHow much snow did Iowa get? See Iowa’s latest snowfall totals
-
Miami, FL1 week agoUrban Meyer, Brady Quinn get in heated exchange during Alabama, Notre Dame, Miami CFP discussion
-
Cleveland, OH1 week agoMan shot, killed at downtown Cleveland nightclub: EMS
-
World1 week ago
Chiefs’ offensive line woes deepen as Wanya Morris exits with knee injury against Texans
