Social entrepreneurs are catalytic innovators who create a systemic social change through scaling and replication. They offer solutions to create a social value by meeting a need that is either observed or not served. To have their mission fulfilled, they depend on passionate teams, generate resources in exceptional ways and solve problems pragmatically[1]. Examples of social innovations in the food sector are FoodBytes and Feeding India.
FoodBytes is a monthly event that brings early-stage startups and industry experts together with a prime purpose of helping to feed the world in a sustainable way. The activities include networking, coaching and nibbling food samples, and pitching. The founder Manuel Gonzalez came up with this idea in response that many food companies had scale and funding but lack innovation. Gonzalez aspires to bridge this gap with FoodBytes. Many immigrant- and nonimmigrant-owned startups have been enabled by experts to have a footprint in their communities [2].
Feeding India is a nonprofit organization that tackles hunger and food waste. The organization helped to feed more than 1 million people in India. The founder Kawatra started by partnering with few caterers in Delhi to donate the excess food from weddings and restaurants to orphans and poor people in Delhi. Feeding India has scaled to cover 32 cities in India with a team of 2200 volunteers. Feeding India extended their beneficiaries to include low-income schools to provide nutritious food for their students to have healthier lives[3].
[1] Disruptive Innovation for Social Change. Harvard Business Review, 2006
[2] San Francisco Banker from Mexico Launches FoodBytes! For Food/Tech Entrepreneurs, Part I. Forbes. 2018
[3] This Indian Social Entrepreneur Has Delivered Food to A Million Needy People. Forbes. 2016