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{{short description|Click-to-donate site associated with the World Food Programme}} {{short description|Click-to-donate site associated with the World Food Programme}}
{{Infobox website {{Infobox website
| name = Freerice | name = Freerice
| url = {{URL|https://freerice.com/}}
| logo = FreeRice logo.png
| commercial = No
| screenshot = <!-- Commented out because image was deleted: ] -->
| type = ]
| caption = Typical screenshot of the game, showing how much rice has been donated
| revenue =
| url =
| commercial = No
| type = ]
| revenue =
| current_status = Active | current_status = Active
| owner = ] | owner = ]
| author = John Breen | author = John Breen
| launch_date = {{start date and age|2007|10|7}} | launch_date = {{start date and age|2007}}
| location = ], ] | location = ], ]
}} }}
]
'''Freerice''' is a website and mobile application that allows players to donate rice to families in need by playing a multiple-choice quiz game. For every question the user answers correctly, five grains of rice are donated via the ] ].
There are over 40 available categories including English, Geography, Humanities, Language Learning, Math, and Science. The categories can be played on up to five difficulty levels, depending on the subject. A user's total score is displayed as a mound of rice and the number of grains earned. '''Freerice''', originally '''FreeRice''', is a website-based application that allows players to donate rice to families in ] by playing a multiple-choice quiz game. For every question a user answers correctly, 10 grains of rice are donated via the ] ] (WFP). There are over 50 categories, including English Proverbs, Multiplication Table, German, Flags of the World, and World Heritage Sites. The categories can be played on up to five difficulty levels, from easiest to hardest, depending on the subject. A user's total score is displayed as a mound of rice and the number of grains earned.


==History== ==History==
The website went live on October 7, 2007, with 830 grains of rice donated on its first day. The site was created by John Breen, a computer programmer, to help his son study for the ] exam.<ref name="ceceri2010">{{cite web|url=http://archive.wired.com/geekdad/2010/03/free-rice-expands-your-word-power-and-feeds-the-hungry/|title=Free Rice Expands Your Word Power and Feeds the Hungry|author=Ceceri, Kathy|date=2010-03-04}}</ref> The second word in its name was originally capitalized as "FreeRice". On November 20, 2007, the WFP launched a campaign to "feed a child for Thanksgiving", encouraging internet users "to take time out from traditionally the busiest online shopping period of the year and help the hungry" by playing the game.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=2695|title=Feed a child for Thanksgiving|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071125125231/http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=2695|archive-date=2007-11-25}}</ref> For a brief while, the amount of rice donated per correct answer was increased to 20 grains, though this was reduced to 10 grains of rice per answer within a few months. Since July 30, 2020, it has been temporarily reduced to 5 grains and later 1 due to a collapse in the advertising market from the ].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Freerice|url=https://freerice.com/about|access-date=2020-08-04|website=freerice.com}}</ref> The website went live on October 7, 2007, and 830 grains of rice were donated on its first day. The site was created by John Breen, a computer programmer, to help his son study for the ] exam.<ref name="ceceri2010">{{cite web|url=http://archive.wired.com/geekdad/2010/03/free-rice-expands-your-word-power-and-feeds-the-hungry/|title=Free Rice Expands Your Word Power and Feeds the Hungry|author=Ceceri, Kathy|date=2010-03-04}}</ref> The second word in its name was originally capitalized as "FreeRice". On November 20, 2007, the WFP launched a campaign to "feed a child for Thanksgiving", encouraging internet users "to take time out from traditionally the busiest online shopping period of the year and help the hungry" by playing the game.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=2695|title=Feed a child for Thanksgiving|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071125125231/http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=2695|archive-date=2007-11-25}}</ref> For a brief while, the amount of rice donated per correct answer was increased to 20 grains. Within a few months, this amount was reduced to 10 grains of rice per answer.


In March 2009, Breen donated the FreeRice website to the World Food Programme.<ref name="ceceri2010"/> In March 2009, Breen donated the FreeRice website to the World Food Programme.<ref name="ceceri2010"/>
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=== Freerice Beta Launch === === Freerice Beta Launch ===
In August 2018, the UN World Food Programme launched a newer, more improved version of the game on a new . Apps for iOS and Android have also been released with this version of the website. In August 2018, the UN World Food Programme launched a newer, more improved version of the game on a new . Apps for iOS and Android have also been released with this version of the website.

==Leaderboards==
Freerice users can see the total rice they donated, as well as their current ranking on the site. The website also allows creating groups, of which players can join using a group code. The group score is determined by the total rice donated by the group members while they are a part of the group. The website publicly displays two leaderboards of the top 50 individuals and top 50 groups, along with the scores of each.


] ]


==Effectiveness== ==Effectiveness==
In its first ten months of operation, Freerice donated over 42 billion grains of rice. One month after the inception of the ] program, users had earned enough points for one billion grains of rice. The United Nations' World Food Program stated that this amount could feed 50,000 people for one day,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7088447.stm|title=Web game provides rice for hungry|date=2007-11-10|publisher=BBC News}}</ref> since it takes 400&nbsp;grams or about 19,200 grains of rice to feed one adult for a day.<ref>http://www.slideshare.net/GreenBeingNancy/400-grams-of-rice</ref> Using this calculation, enough rice was donated in 2008 to feed over 6,000 people daily for each day of that year.<ref name="totals">{{Cite news|access-date=2008-03-28 |title=Total Donations By Date |url=http://freerice.com/totals.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080326000142/http://www.freerice.com/totals.php |archive-date=2008-03-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Since its inception, as of April 3, 2013, Freerice players had earned sufficient rice for over 10 million meals, assuming 2 meals per day. In its first ten months of operation, Freerice donated over 42 billion grains of rice. One month after the inception of the ] program, users had earned enough points for one billion grains of rice. The United Nations World Food Program stated that this amount could feed 50,000 people for one day,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7088447.stm|title=Web game provides rice for hungry|date=2007-11-10|publisher=BBC News}}</ref> since it takes 400&nbsp;grams or about 19,200 grains of rice to feed one adult for a day.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.slideshare.net/GreenBeingNancy/400-grams-of-rice|title = 400 Grams of Rice|date = 31 July 2008}}</ref> Using this calculation, enough rice was donated in 2008 to feed over 6,000 people daily for each day of that year.<ref name="totals">{{Cite news|access-date=2008-03-28 |title=Total Donations By Date |url=http://freerice.com/totals.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080326000142/http://www.freerice.com/totals.php |archive-date=2008-03-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Since its inception, as of April 3, 2013, Freerice players had earned sufficient rice for over 10 million meals, assuming 2 meals per day.


==Awards== ==Awards==
* Digital Communications Award 2011 – * Digital Communications Award 2011 – Best Corporate Game
* '']'' magazine –50 Best Websites 2011
* TIME Magazine –
* 15th Annual Webby Awards – * 15th Annual Webby Awards – Honoree
* 2010 Parent's Choice Awards – * 2010 Parent's Choice Awards –Online Learning
* TIME Magazine – * ''Time'' magazine – 50 Best Websites 2008
* ] Pick of the Year 2007 – Charity Category – Winner<ref name="yahoo"> (accessed on February 7, 2008).</ref> * ] Pick of the Year 2007 – Charity Category – Winner<ref name="yahoo"> (accessed on February 7, 2008).</ref>
* Berkman Award to Freerice.com creator, John Breen. He was recognized with a Berkman Award on May 16, 2008, for creating Freerice. At the Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet & Society's tenth anniversary gala dinner, recipients of the Berkman Awards were chosen for their outstanding contributions to the Internet's impact on society over the past 10 years. * Berkman Award to Freerice.com creator, John Breen. He was recognized with a Berkman Award on May 16, 2008, for creating Freerice. At Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet & Society's tenth-anniversary gala dinner, recipients of the Berkman Awards were chosen for their outstanding contributions to the Internet's impact on society over the past 10 years.


==Monthly count== == See also ==
* ] (charitable organisation)
]
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
|-
!colspan="3" width="520pt"|{{TOC tab|2007}}
|-
!width="110pt"| Month !!width="200pt" class="sortable"| Monthly grains of rice donated !!width="210pt"| Overall grains of rice donated
|-
| October 2007 || 537,163,380 || 537,163,380
|-
| November 2007 || 4,768,969,790 || 5,306,133,170
|-
| December 2007 || 6,948,988,060 || 12,255,121,230
|}
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
|-
!colspan="3" width="520pt"|{{TOC tab|2008}}
|-
!width="110pt"| Month !!width="200pt" class="sortable"| Monthly grains of rice donated !!width="210pt"| Overall grains of rice donated
|-
| January 2008 || 4,551,581,980 || 16,806,703,210
|-
| February 2008 || 3,893,361,180 || 20,700,064,390
|-
| March 2008 || 4,109,191,320 || 24,809,255,710
|-
| April 2008 || 5,614,647,060 || 30,423,902,770
|-
| May 2008 || 4,657,641,260 || 35,081,544,030
|-
| June 2008 || 3,043,677,360 || 38,125,221,390
|-
| July 2008 || 2,046,077,880 || 40,171,299,270
|-
| August 2008 || 1,918,976,960 || 42,090,276,230
|-
| September 2008 || 3,149,870,660 || 45,240,146,890
|-
| October 2008 || 3,739,408,120 || 48,979,555,010
|-
| November 2008 || 3,678,546,760 || 52,658,101,770
|-
| December 2008 || 3,539,642,160 || 56,197,743,930
|}
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
|-
!colspan="3" width="520pt"|{{TOC tab|2009}}
|-
!width="110pt"| Month !!width="200pt" class="sortable"| Monthly grains of rice donated !!width="210pt"| Overall grains of rice donated
|-
| January 2009 || 2,416,239,520 || 58,613,983,450
|-
| February 2009 || 1,663,509,530 || 60,277,492,980
|-
| March 2009 || 1,830,287,650 || 62,107,780,630
|-
| April 2009 || 1,478,963,720 || 63,586,744,350
|-
| May 2009 || 1,403,545,670 || 64,990,290,020
|-
| June 2009 || 12,145,465,454 || 65,920,196,520
|-
| July 2009 || 652,730,310 || 66,572,926,830
|-
| August 2009 || 787,320,460 || 67,360,247,290
|-
| September 2009 || 1,310,200,000 || 68,670,447,290
|-
| October 2009 || 1,611,699,490 || 70,282,146,780
|-
| November 2009 || 1,426,271,040 || 71,708,417,820
|-
| December 2009 || 1,262,727,060 || 72,971,144,880
|}
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
|-
!colspan="3" width="520pt"|{{TOC tab|2010}}
|-
!width="110pt"| Month !!width="200pt" class="sortable"| Monthly grains of rice donated !!width="210pt"| Overall grains of rice donated
|-
| January 2010 || 1,451,006,720 || 74,422,151,600
|-
| February 2010 || 1,281,469,630 || 75,703,621,230
|-
| March 2010 || 1,474,236,720 || 77,177,857,950
|-
| April 2010 || 1,257,599,650 || 78,435,457,600
|-
| May 2010 || 1,273,109,000 (+1,410){{ref|count_note_1|*}} || 78,562,768,500 (+1,410)
|-
| June 2010 || 690,482,290 (+5,800){{ref|count_note_1|*}} || 79,253,250,790 (+7,210)
|-
| July 2010 || 441,562,950 (+20,430){{ref|count_note_1|*}} || 80,840,611,840 (+27,640)
|-
| August 2010 || 605,922,360 (+18,155,100){{ref|count_note_1|*}} || 81,446,534,200 (+18,182,740)
|-
| September 2010 || 671,694,660 (+476,215,490){{ref|count_note_1|*}} || 82,118,228,860 (+494,398,230)
|-
| October 2010 || 1,240,673,400 (+476,215,490){{ref|count_note_1|*}} || 83,853,300,490
|-
| November 2010 || 1,210,463,170<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20101207184318/http://www.freerice.com/frmisc/totals</ref> || 85,063,763,660
|-
| December 2010 || 1,106,244,500 || 86,170,008,160
<!--notes below--->
|-
|colspan=3 style="font-size:smaller" width="520px"|
{{note|count_note_1|*}} FreeRice and Freerice 2.0 kept separate totals before October 2010. The above, where noted, displays the amounts from the original followed in parenthesis by those from 2.0. Both totals have since been merged.
|}
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
|-
!colspan="3" width="520pt"|{{TOC tab|2011}}
|-
!width="110pt"| Month !!width="200pt" class="sortable"| Monthly grains of rice donated !!width="210pt"| Overall grains of rice donated
|-
| January 2011 || 1,081,862,010 || 87,251,870,170
|-
| February 2011 || 1,145,741,650 || 88,397,611,820
|-
| March 2011 || 1,191,406,110 || 89,589,017,930
|-
| April 2011 || 1,287,749,600 || 90,876,767,530
|-
| May 2011 || 1,182,438,930 || 92,059,206,460
|-
| June 2011 || 680,929,280 || 92,740,135,740
|-
| July 2011 || 308,028,170 || 93,048,163,910
|-
| August 2011 || 227,231,370 || 93,275,395,280
|-
| September 2011 || 235,987,700 || 93,511,382,980
|-
| October 2011 || 260,421,860 || 93,771,804,840
|-
| November 2011 || 289,236,090 || 94,061,040,930
|-
| December 2011 || 327,062,030 || 94,388,102,960
|}
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
|-
!colspan="3" width="520pt"|{{TOC tab|2012}}
|-
!width="110pt"| Month !!width="200pt" class="sortable"| Monthly grains of rice donated !!width="210pt"| Overall grains of rice donated
|-
| January 2012 || 274,112,160 || 94,662,215,120
|-
| February 2012 || 337,506,130 || 94,999,721,250
|-
| March 2012 || 344,204,120 || 95,343,925,370
|-
| April 2012 || 294,483,280 || 95,638,408,650
|-
| May 2012 || 283,503,640 || 95,921,912,290
|-
| June 2012 || 201,249,150 || 96,123,161,440
|-
| July 2012 || 182,698,120 || 96,305,859,560
|-
| August 2012 || 204,043,950 || 96,509,903,510
|-
| September 2012 || 240,385,730 || 96,750,289,240
|-
| October 2012 || 274,684,080 || 97,024,973,320
|-
| November 2012 || 417,906,820 || 97,442,880,140
|-
| December 2012 || 296,621,316 || 97,739,501,456
|}

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
|-
!colspan="3" width="520pt"|{{TOC tab|2013}}
|-
!width="110pt"| Month !!width="200pt" class="sortable"| Monthly grains of rice donated !!width="210pt"| Overall grains of rice donated
|-
| January 2013 || 349,662,210<ref
group=note name=2013glitch>Freerice's totals seem to have glitched around September 2013. Comparing webarchive.org shots from May and Sept of 2013, the 2010 totals curiously drop from ~13 billion to 9 bil grains; also, closed months in 2013 suddenly increase as well (for example, January 2013 went from 274 mil to 786 mil). Finding it unlikely that billions of grains can be recalled nearly 3 years after they were eaten, I calculate the values here from previous records instead. Recalling how 2010 was the year Free Rice ("1.0") transitioned to Freerice 2.0, the "new" 2010 total seems strangely similar to amounts my records attribute to the original Free Rice. In other words, the new count resembles the result of subtracting 2.0 grains from the old 2010 count. While this result came out 19 mil grains higher than recorded for 1.0, that discrepancy may be explained by how the transition on the 7th of October had prevented this Wikipedian from recording "1.0" grains from the first 6 days of that month since initial 2.0 total page seemed to exclude them. (I imagine perhaps Freerice saw that the totals were less than expected but did not know they were missing from 2010, and so fudged the prior months of 2013 to make up for the missing grains?) -CodeHydro</ref><ref group=note></ref><ref group=note></ref> || 98,089,163,666
|-
| February 2013 || 266,649,290<ref group=note name=2013glitch/> || 98,355,812,956
|-
| March 2013 || 319,206,710<ref group=note name=2013glitch/> || 98,675,019,666
|-
| April 2013 || 459,399,440<ref group=note name=2013glitch/> || 99,134,419,106
|-
| May 2013 || 310,023,720<ref group=note name=2013glitch/> || 99,444,442,826
|-
| June 2013 || 195,811,600<ref group=note name=2013glitch/> || 99,640,254,426
|-
| July 2013 || 193,237,430<ref group=note name=2013glitch/> || 99,833,491,856
|-
| August 2013 || 389,972,410<ref group=note name=2013glitch/> || 100,223,464,266
|-
| September 2013 || 370,885,840<ref group=note name=2013glitch/> || 100,594,350,106
|-
| October 1–24,<ref></ref> 2013 || 159,365,960<ref group=note name=2013glitch/> || 100,753,716,066<ref group=note name=2013glitch/>
|-
| October 25 - December 31, 2013 || 429,088,550 || 101,182,804,616
|}

{| class="wikitable collapsible"
|-
!colspan="3" width="520pt"|{{TOC tab|2014}}
|-
!width="110pt"| Month !!width="200pt" class="sortable"| Monthly grains of rice donated !!width="210pt"| Overall grains of rice donated
|-
| January 2014 || 349,662,210 || 101,415,929,916<ref group=note name=2013glitch/>
|-
| February 2014 || 241,367,520 || 101,657,297,436
|-
| March 2014 || 219,342,840 || 101,876,640,276
|-
| April 2014 || 216,473,200 || 102,093,113,476
|-
| May 2014 || 191,988,980 || 102,285,102,456
|-
| June 2014 || 252,428,280 || 102,537,530,736
|-
| July 2014 || 145,472,000 || 102,683,002,736
|-
| August 2014 || 136,309,740 || 102,819,312,476
|-
| September 2014 || 138,291,660<ref name=2014oct> Only partial totals are available for October 31, but about as close as we're going to get for the full month as we currently have.</ref> ||102,957,604,136
|-
| October 2014 || 123,305,060+<ref name=2014oct/> ||103,080,909,196+
|-
| November{{--}}December 2014 || colspan=2 | <ref>The full year totals for Freerice.com have been glitched since at least Jan 2015 and now display negative numbers. Without these totals we cannot calculate overall grains donated.</ref>
|}
{| class="wikitable collapsible"
|-
! colspan="3" width="520pt" |{{TOC tab|2016}}
|-
! width="110pt" | Month !! width="200pt" class="sortable" | Monthly grains of rice donated !! width="210pt" | Overall grains of rice donated
|-
| January 2016 ||264,980,280||
|-
| February 2016 ||525,172,070||
|-
| March 2016 ||347,065,700||
|-
| April 2016 ||199,722,090||
|-
| May 2016 ||860,194,410||
|-
| June 2016 ||742,793,630||
|-
| July 2016 ||425,293,700||
|-
| August 2016 ||130,513,090||
|-
| September 2016 ||132,992,450||
|-
| October 2016 ||196,426,640||
|-
| November 2016 ||157,675,040||
|-
| December 2016 ||155,588,110||
|}
{| class="wikitable collapsible"
|-
! colspan="3" width="520pt" |{{TOC tab|2017}}
|-
! width="110pt" | Month !! width="200pt" class="sortable" | Monthly grains of rice donated !! width="210pt" | Overall grains of rice donated
|-
| January 2017 ||554,882,920||
|-
| February 2017 ||246,143,340||
|-
| March 2017 ||149,909,530||
|-
| April 2017 ||132,419,590||
|-
| May 2017 ||161,808,240||
|-
| June 2017 ||115,069,080||
|-
| July 2017 ||105,594,800||
|-
| August 2017 ||121,419,950||
|-
| September 2017 ||158,348,360||
|-
| October 2017 ||174,342,570||
|-
| November 2017 ||173,410,120||
|-
| December 2017 ||-4,124,719,596||
|}
{| class="wikitable collapsible"
|-
! colspan="3" width="520pt" |{{TOC tab|2018}}
|-
! width="110pt" | Month !! width="200pt" class="sortable" | Monthly grains of rice donated !! width="210pt" | Overall grains of rice donated
|-
| January 2018 ||319,171,080||
|-
| February 2018 ||149,158,610||
|-
| March 2018 ||175,011,940||
|-
| April 2018 ||137,136,210||
|-
| May 2018 ||144,932,900||
|-
| June 2018 ||107,808,870||
|-
| July 2018 ||106,242,860||
|-
| August 2018 ||91,461,150||
|-
| September 2018 ||77,961,650||
|-
| October 2018 ||88,640,370||
|-
| November 2018 ||89,331,160||
|-
| December 2018 ||99,520,060||
|}
{| class="wikitable collapsible"
|-
! colspan="3" width="520pt" |{{TOC tab|2019}}
|-
! width="110pt" | Month !! width="200pt" class="sortable" | Monthly grains of rice donated !! width="210pt" | Overall grains of rice donated
|-
| January 2019 ||112,049,330||
|-
| February 2019 ||93,661,930||
|-
| March 2019 ||95,361,250||
|-
| April 2019 ||91,127,060||
|-
| May 2019 ||86,167,510||
|-
| June 2019 ||119,787,540||
|-
| July 2019 ||105,088,250||
|-
| August 2019 ||99,552,720||
|-
| September 2019 ||264,443,080||
|-
| October 2019 ||391,158,720||
|-
| November 2019 ||399,069,600||
|-
| December 2019 ||404,083,700||
|}
{| class="wikitable collapsible"
|-
! colspan="3" width="520pt" |{{TOC tab|2020}}
|-
! width="110pt" | Month !! width="200pt" class="sortable" | Monthly grains of rice donated !! width="210pt" | Overall grains of rice donated
|-
| January 2020 ||379,633,750||
|-
| February 2020 ||346,568,940||
|-
| March 2020 ||341,555,530||
|-
| April 2020 ||340,340,410||
|-
| May 2020 ||328,464,330||
|-
| June 2020 ||411,691,330||
|-
| July 2020 ||501,288,130||
|-
| August 2020 ||196,828,080||
|-
| September 2020 ||184,674,260||
|-
| October 2020 ||203,009,240||
|-
| November 2020 ||220,664,415||
|-
| December 2020 ||222,252,615||
|}
{| class="wikitable collapsible"
|-
! colspan="3" width="520pt" |{{TOC tab|2021}}
|-
! width="110pt" | Month !! width="200pt" class="sortable" | Monthly grains of rice donated !! width="210pt" | Overall grains of rice donated
|-
| January 2021 ||143,479,226||
|-
| February 2021 ||37,110,528||
|-
| March 2021 ||39,434,532||
|-
| April 2021 ||286,081,688||
|-
| May 2021 ||437,121,793||
|}

Total All Dates (as of August 2014): 102,819,312,476<ref group=note name=2013glitch/> <ref>{{cite web|url=http://freerice.com/frmisc/totals |title=Archived copy |access-date=2013-09-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928174203/http://freerice.com/frmisc/totals |archive-date=2013-09-28 }}</ref>

Modified data as of May 31, 2021: 102,246,216,989.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://freerice.com/frmisc/totals |title=Totals {{!}} Freerice.com |website=freerice.com |access-date=2016-06-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928174203/http://freerice.com/frmisc/totals |archive-date=2013-09-28 }}</ref>

==Milestones==
*October 7, 2007 – Freerice launches with 830 grains of rice donated on its first day
*November 10, 2007 – Freerice breaks the one-day 100,000,000-grain milestone with 122,377,240 donated grains
*November 28, 2007 – With continued sponsor support, Freerice doubles the number of grains donated for each correct definition from 10 to 20
*December 17, 2007 – Freerice breaks the one-day 300,000,000-grain milestone with 358,559,540 donated grains
*December 19, 2007 – 10 billion grains donated in total
*April 2, 2008 – 25 billion grains donated in total
*November 11, 2008 – 50 billion grains donated in total
*September 2010 – A new version of the game (Freerice 2.0) was launched with social networking and group functionality
*January 2011 – 85 billion grains donated in total
*June 2011 – A Spanish version is launched
*September 2011 – A French version and Italian version are launched
*October 2011 – A Chinese version is launched
*December 2011 – A Korean version is launched
*January 2012 – Over 94 billion grains donated in total and over 1 million registered players
*February 2012 – The first official World Freerice Week was held, and two new subjects launched (World Landmarks and Human Anatomy), and soon thereafter deletes millions of grains earned by top participants confused with bots
*April 2012 – Launched an SAT subject
*August 2013 – Reached 100 billion grains of rice<ref group=note name=2013glitch/>
*February 2015 – 300 billion grains donated in total
*August 2018 – Freerice launches their beta website with a fresh new look
*February 2019 – Freerice releases their first rice-raising app on Google Play
*May 2019 – Freerice announces on Facebook they will be shutting down Freerice 2.0 in favor of their beta version
*July 2019 – Freerice releases beta iOS app in the App Store
*August 29, 2019 – Freerice 2.0 shuts down and Freerice Beta takes over


==References== ==References==
{{reflist}} {{reflist}}

===Glitch notes===
<references group=note></references>
Freerice glitched in late December 2015, and the yearly total became a negative number, thus subtracting the year's totals from the aggregate total. The problem has reappeared in 2015 and 2016, so the issue appear to be with 32-bit signed binary integers counting the grains. This explains why the displayed total is so much lower than the true total.


==External links== ==External links==
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Latest revision as of 13:56, 21 October 2024

Click-to-donate site associated with the World Food Programme
Freerice
Type of siteClick-to-donate site
HeadquartersRome, Italy
OwnerWorld Food Programme
Created byJohn Breen
URLfreerice.com
CommercialNo
Launched2007; 17 years ago (2007)
Current statusActive
A rice bowl on a globe, filling up every 50 grains

Freerice, originally FreeRice, is a website-based application that allows players to donate rice to families in developing countries by playing a multiple-choice quiz game. For every question a user answers correctly, 10 grains of rice are donated via the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). There are over 50 categories, including English Proverbs, Multiplication Table, German, Flags of the World, and World Heritage Sites. The categories can be played on up to five difficulty levels, from easiest to hardest, depending on the subject. A user's total score is displayed as a mound of rice and the number of grains earned.

History

The website went live on October 7, 2007, and 830 grains of rice were donated on its first day. The site was created by John Breen, a computer programmer, to help his son study for the SAT exam. The second word in its name was originally capitalized as "FreeRice". On November 20, 2007, the WFP launched a campaign to "feed a child for Thanksgiving", encouraging internet users "to take time out from traditionally the busiest online shopping period of the year and help the hungry" by playing the game. For a brief while, the amount of rice donated per correct answer was increased to 20 grains. Within a few months, this amount was reduced to 10 grains of rice per answer.

In March 2009, Breen donated the FreeRice website to the World Food Programme.

Freerice 2.0 launch

In September 2010, the UN World Food Programme launched a new version of the game with social networking, groups, rankings, and achievements. As part of the launch, the site dropped the second capitalization in its name, going from "FreeRice" to "Freerice".

Freerice Beta Launch

In August 2018, the UN World Food Programme launched a newer, more improved version of the game on a new website. Apps for iOS and Android have also been released with this version of the website.

Effectiveness

In its first ten months of operation, Freerice donated over 42 billion grains of rice. One month after the inception of the viral marketing program, users had earned enough points for one billion grains of rice. The United Nations World Food Program stated that this amount could feed 50,000 people for one day, since it takes 400 grams or about 19,200 grains of rice to feed one adult for a day. Using this calculation, enough rice was donated in 2008 to feed over 6,000 people daily for each day of that year. Since its inception, as of April 3, 2013, Freerice players had earned sufficient rice for over 10 million meals, assuming 2 meals per day.

Awards

  • Digital Communications Award 2011 – Best Corporate Game
  • Time magazine –50 Best Websites 2011
  • 15th Annual Webby Awards – Honoree
  • 2010 Parent's Choice Awards –Online Learning
  • Time magazine – 50 Best Websites 2008
  • Yahoo! Pick of the Year 2007 – Charity Category – Winner
  • Berkman Award to Freerice.com creator, John Breen. He was recognized with a Berkman Award on May 16, 2008, for creating Freerice. At Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet & Society's tenth-anniversary gala dinner, recipients of the Berkman Awards were chosen for their outstanding contributions to the Internet's impact on society over the past 10 years.

See also

  • Ripple (charitable organisation)

References

  1. ^ Ceceri, Kathy (2010-03-04). "Free Rice Expands Your Word Power and Feeds the Hungry".
  2. "Feed a child for Thanksgiving". Archived from the original on 2007-11-25.
  3. "Web game provides rice for hungry". BBC News. 2007-11-10.
  4. "400 Grams of Rice". 31 July 2008.
  5. "Total Donations By Date". Archived from the original on 2008-03-26. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  6. Find of the Year 2007, Category Charity (accessed on February 7, 2008).

External links

Categories: