Keren Gomez constantly snaps photos of pancakes, burgers, chicken, and more, all for a good cause. Each photo she takes through the GiftAMeal app helps provide a meal to a neighbor in need through a local food bank. And with a photo of a croissant breakfast and hash browns last week, Keren became the first GiftAMeal user to provide 1,000 meals to those in need.
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Keren initially learned about GiftAMeal in 2018 at Gingham’s Homestyle Restaurant. Intrigued by the purple table-tent, Keren was drawn to sign up and begin her GiftAMeal journey. She eagerly marched her way up the leaderboard, discovering new restaurants and taking lots of mouth-watering photos.GiftAMeal’s Founder & CEO, Andrew Glantz, sat down with her to learn more about what drives her to be #1 out of over 50,000 app users.

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Keren says she continually uses GiftAMeal “because it's for a good cause. I love food and I always take pictures of food… I have a really good excuse to do it with your app."

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Her favorite part of the app is how easy and convenient it is. “I really like that you take the one picture and it posts to Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter,” Keren explained. After submitting a GiftAMeal photo, users are invited to share that photo on social media with just a tap, and an extra meal is given for each platform selected.

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Keren also explained that she likes to use the app when deciding where to eat. “I like to open up the app and browse if we're in a certain area that we're not familiar with. I'll start listing restaurants. One of the places that my boyfriend has branched out to is Three Kings Pub."

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When asked for her all-time favorite restaurant, Keren’s eyes lit up and a giant smile grew across her face as she exclaimed, “Gingham’s! I've been going there since college, over 20 years ago. They're very festive. I love it. There's a secret thing on the Gingham’s menu that nobody ever really knows about until they've experienced it. It's called the fudge flattop. It’s half a waffle with basically a sundae on top. So ice cream, whipped cream, nuts, and chocolate drizzle. When they carry it out people stare and wonder what it is. I say it's the secret dessert menu. Now everybody wants to order it.”

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Being a big foodie, Keren hopes even more places join GiftAMeal. Her top recommendations: Monical’s Pizza, Stefanina’s Pizzeria, and Whataburger. She also noted that wineries would be perfect fits and noted her favorites: Montelle, Noboleis, Blumenhof, and Balducci’s.

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Keren ended the conversation with gratitude, noting, “it feels really awesome to be part of this app and this community of people who are giving back and using food as a way to help others.”

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Keren, from all of us at GiftAMeal, thank YOU for leading the way with all of your photos. You have made a tremendous impact and your dedication to your community is inspiring.