With every half-sized restaurant meal, a donation to fight hunger

Halfsies is designed to help consumers eat less at restaurants, while helping to feed the hungry and minimize the amount of food that gets thrown out.

Pay-what-you-can pricing is one way for a restaurant to help fight hunger during tough economic times, but recently we came across a different approach that aims to combat obesity and waste as well. It’s called Halfsies, and it’s essentially a program that’s designed to help consumers eat less at restaurants while helping to feed the hungry and minimize the amount of food that gets thrown out. Halfsies is “a social initiative offering restaurant-goers a choice that provides a healthier meal portion, reduces food waste, and supports the fight against hunger,” in the site’s own words. Now gearing up for a pilot launch this spring in Austin, Texas, and New York City, Halfsies plans to partner with local restaurants for participation in its program. Those that do participate will then choose a set of meals on their menu to include in the program, designating them with a small symbol. Then, when a patron chooses to “go halfsies” on such an item, he or she receives a half-portion of the meal while still paying full price. Ninety percent of the proceeds are then donated to support the fight against hunger, with the remaining 10 percent used for Halfsies’ own operations. The video below explains the premise behind Halfsies in further detail:

In this era of obesity, oversized portions and unbridled food waste, there are still roughly a billion people worldwide who don’t have enough to eat, Texas-based Halfsies says. The company currently seeks sponsors, partners, donors and volunteers — time to help combat three of the world’s most persistent problems?