The Cook’s Kitchen

I love testing my vocabulary. Even during my grammar and junior high years long ago, I actually looked forward to spelling and vocabulary tests. Math, however, was another story altogether. These days, I still take random ones I find online, just to make sure Momnesia hasn’t set in too deep.

But a vocabulary test for a good cause? I am so there. Last year, John Breen was trying to get his 16-year-old son, Ben, to study for the SATs. When all else failed, he put his computer programming background to work and came up with a multiple-choice vocabulary quiz. And then a lightbulb went off. Somehow he thought he could connect the quiz to a way to address world hunger, and Freerice.com was born.

With over ten thousand word-definition challenges, every correct answer results in a donation to the UN World Food Program. The donations are funded by corporate advertising, and so far, have generated 20 billion grains of rice. What a wonderfully easy way for us all to do our part.