Meet mRelief, The Nonprofit Using Technology To Fight Hunger

1 in 9 people in the U.S. struggle with hunger. And despite federal assistance programs like food stamps, which aim to help millions of families across the U.S., many of these families aren’t actually receiving these benefits due to the cumbersome administrative process required to enroll. mRelief is changing that. Led by cofounders Rose Afriyie and Genevieve Nielsen, the tech nonprofit is transforming access to food stamps, so more families can get the help they need to eat with dignity.

Shannon Farley: What is mRelief’s approach to solving food insecurity?

Rose Afriyie and Genevieve Nielsen: At mRelief, we address hunger by increasing access to resources and closing the digital divide - all through an equity-centered approach, because we know that addressing hunger is an issue of racial equity. People of color are disproportionately affected by hunger. According to the Food Research and Action Center, Black people in America are 2.5 times more likely to be hungry than their white counterparts.

Farley: There are a whole host of factors at play that drive food insecurity. What specific problem within the issue of hunger are you seeking to solve?

Afriyie and Nielsen: Though federal nutrition assistance is available in the form of food stamps, there is a huge lack of accessibility to these benefits. In fact, $11 billion in SNAP goes unclaimed every year. In other words, millions of families are eligible for food stamps - but aren’t receiving them. Reason being that to enroll in SNAP, applicants have to complete a 20-page application and submit as many as 10 additional documents. It’s a lot, and this lengthy process is a huge barrier for low-income families. Technology can and should be used to increase accessibility to this much-needed resource.

Farley: So you built mRelief. Can you tell me how it works?

Afriyie and Nielsen: mRelief helps families quickly determine their eligibility for food stamps and, if they qualify, sign up for SNAP. We do this through an easy-to-use platform for web, text, and voice that takes users through 10 simple questions. Our tech has cut down food stamp enrollment from a cumbersome 20-page application to a straightforward 3-minute process. And our solution is scalable. To date, we’ve served over 870,000 families in all 50 states with our innovative platform.

Farley: During this pandemic, your solution is more important than ever. What are you doing to support families amidst these unprecedented times?

Afriyie and Nielsen: You’re right - the need for these solutions has never been greater. At the start of the pandemic, we doubled the number of users we’ve served. And we’re not stopping there - we’re on a mission to reach as many families as possible.

Besides our core service, we have two additional COVID-19 solutions. During the pandemic, our safety net services like food banks are overburdened. SNAP can provide nine meals for every one meal provided by a food bank. To make it easier to access the program, we’re building Johnnie, a CRM platform for outreach workers to connect with SNAP beneficiaries on everything from on-demand support to submitting documents.  

We’ve also built a pre-screening tool that informs SNAP recipients about the key flexibilities they may have in the wake of COVID-19, like receiving maximum benefits or being able to shop with SNAP online.

Farley: What does mRelief’s future look like? 

Afriyie and Nielsen: We’re taking exciting steps to support families even after they’ve enrolled in SNAP. The cornerstone of our work is signing people up for SNAP for the first time. But successfully enrolling in SNAP doesn’t mean recipients are set to receive benefits for life. They have to periodically recertify to continue receiving food stamps - which, unsurprisingly, is another long and cumbersome process. mRelief is building a tool to help. Through our initiative keepsnap.org, we are collaborating with government agencies to help families sign up for e-notices, helping them receive this critical information faster while drastically reducing postage costs. And in the future, we’re planning to take on the recertification process from end-to-end to ensure that more than 40 million Americans can eat with dignity. 

Farley: What advice do you have for women entrepreneurs launching social impact startups?

Afriyie and Nielsen: Start with a discrete problem that is smaller in scope. For us, this meant focusing on increasing access to one social service in particular - food stamps - rather than multiple other services. Measure this clearly defined problem, and go all-in on your solution. Focus is the key that unlocks the door to what we’re all striving towards: impact.