FreeRice: Make a Difference in the Fight Against World Hunger

Feed the Hungry 10 Grains of Rice at a Time

FreeRice.com is a project to impact world hunger and provide English vocabulary quizzes at the same time for free by The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) and the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. Creator John Breen donated FreeRice to the WFP in October 2007 with hopes that it would feed and educate people for years.

Does FreeRice really make a difference? Rice donated through the quizzes on FreeRice is distributed by the WFP. FreeRice rice fed 750,000 Mynamar citizens after the cyclone, 13,500 pregnant and nursing women in Cambodia for two months, 66,000 schoolchildren in Uganda for a week, and 108,000 Bhutanese refuges in Nepal for three days. It takes about 19,200 grains of rice to equal 400 grams, which is enough for two meals per day per person.

How does FreeRice work? FreeRice is a vocabulary game that offers a word and one-word definitions. You pick a definition and every time you get the answer correct, the organization or sponsor listed at the bottom of the page donates grains of rice. The words get progressively harder. If you miss a word, the word is repeated and you have the opportunity to try again. Word recognition through repetition and associations are a fantastic way to learn language and improve word knowledge. If you are an ESL (English as a Second Language) student, this is a fast way to increase your vocabulary.

Here is how to play: first, click on the link to FreeRice. An English vocabulary word and four words similar in meaning will show in the center of the page. On this day, the word is "apathy." The choices are "indifference," "magazine," "veterinarian," and "cop." Select "indifference," and the page changes to show a rice bowl with 10 grains of rice with the words underneath, "You have just donated 10 grains of rice. Please try another word." To the left of the bowl, the new word is "preeminent" and the choices are "elderly," "underwater," "melodious," and "outstanding." Playing the game again and selecting the correct definition puts 10 more grains of rice in the bowl.