World · North America · 52 mins ago
Sharebite CEO urges US employers to help address hunger
Sharebite CEO Dilip Rao wants US employers to do more to address hunger by helping workers afford meals.
Rao says nearly 150 million Americans face food hardship, but that is his estimate.
The latest official figure cited is 47.9 million people experienced food insecurity in 2024, based on federal data.
The US Department of Agriculture has stopped collecting the household survey used to produce that count.
Rao points to Brazil’s Worker Food Program, created in 1976, which gives tax incentives to companies that provide meals to employees.
He says employers could treat hunger as an economic issue and help by offering meal benefits; Sharebite also donates a meal for each meal ordered through its platform.
Sharebite CEO and co-founder Dilip Rao says US employers can help address hunger by providing meal benefits.
Rao argues that hunger should be treated as an economic problem as well as a social one.
He points to Brazil’s Worker Food Program, known as PAT, as a model that gives companies tax incentives to provide meals to employees.
Sharebite says it donates a meal through nonprofit partners for each meal ordered on its platform.
The latest official figure cited in the article is that 47.9 million people in the US experienced food insecurity in 2024.
- Who
- Dilip Rao, CEO and co-founder of Sharebite.
- What
- Rao is urging US employers to help address hunger through workplace meal benefits, pointing to Brazil’s PAT as a model.
- When
- The article was published on November 10, 2026. Rao says he paid attention to the issue during the 2026 midterm election campaign.
- Where
- The United States; Rao points to Brazil’s Worker Food Program as an example.
- Why
- Rao says many people face food insecurity and argues that employers can help address it through meal programs.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Brazil created the Worker Food Program, which Rao cites as a model.
Sharebite was founded to serve companies.
Sharebite raised US$39 million in a Series B round.
The latest official figure cited in the article says 47.9 million people in the US experienced food insecurity.
Annual inflation reached 3.7%, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Sharebite founder
- 2015
- Sharebite Series B
- US$39 million in 2022
- Meals donated
- More than 18 million, according to Sharebite
- US food insecurity
- 47.9 million people in 2024
- Brazilian program
- Worker Food Program (PAT), created in 1976
What people are saying
We just need to start thinking about hunger not only as a social problem, but also as an economic problem that companies can help solve.
We are talking about almost 150 million people. Almost half the country’s population is facing difficulties; living paycheck to paycheck and not knowing where the next meal will come from.