Yesterday I was required to attend this conference on campus called #GetStarted 2016. It was all about business startups and their success stories. Typically I’d not have much interest in the subject since I love science and health, but I was glad I went. It was so interesting to hear the different stories. Some startups were accidental, which were really intriguing to me. No matter the speaker, all agreed on having no regrets. They encouraged us to, if we have a business idea, to go for it! You never know unless you try. It was definitely inspiring and helped us not fear failure. I know I fear it sometimes!
One speaker that really stood out to me was a woman who founded FoodCloud. She was about my age which really caught my attention. FoodCloud is a non-profit organization that focuses on surplus food distribution. The fact is, 30% of all food produced is wasted (this was an Irish statistic, but is definitely relative to other nations). Why not have restaurants, grocery stores, and supermarkets give away their leftovers at the end of the day to those that need it? To the homeless; to the less fortunate? This issue is something that has always bothered me. These stores just throw out the leftovers for the most part; mainly because they don’t have many options for distribution. In other words, many businesses want to, but don't have a way of doing so. What FoodCloud does is match charities that need food to businesses that have excess food (which to mention, by the way, is perfectly suitable food for consumption). FoodCloud manages this exchange, transport, and communication. It was something so practical yet so meaningful. I loved hearing about it and hope it flourishes all around the world.
Irish names that have stumped me…
Aoife = pronounced “Ee-fa”
Aine = pronounced “Anya”
Eoin = Owen
Eoghan = Owen
Niamh = pronounced “Neev”
