Sharebite's CEO wants US to copy Brazil's meal benefit model

The hunger crisis nobody discusses

During the 2026 midterm campaign, Sharebite CEO Dilip Rao noticed almost no one talked about hunger.Official data shows 47.

“Nearly half the country's population is struggling; they're living from paycheck-to-paycheck.”

Food costs are squeezing workers

Annual inflation reached 3.7% in September.Food prices are up 33% since 2019.A Government Accountability Office report found Uber, Lyft and DoorDash now lead major employers in workers receiving SNAP benefits, ahead of Walmart and McDonald's.

How Sharebite works

Founded in 2015, Sharebite manages employee food ordering and meal allowances for companies.For every meal ordered on the platform, Sharebite donates an equivalent meal through nonprofit partners including Feeding America and City Harvest.

Brazil's model for meal benefits

Rao points to Brazil's Workers' Food Program, created in 1976.Companies that join receive tax incentives for feeding their employees.The program now reaches about 22 million workers.

The business case for feeding workers

Healthcare spending and lost productivity tied to poor diets and food insecurity exceed 1.1 trillion dollars a year, according to the Food is Medicine Institute at Tufts University.

Rao's pitch to US employers

Rao argues the US should add food to the employer benefits framework that already covers healthcare and retirement.He says this would support workers and stimulate small-business activity.

“We just have to start thinking about hunger, not only as a societal problem but more as an economic problem that businesses can help solve.”

Sharebite's rapid growth

Rao says demand is accelerating.Last week was the company's best week ever.October was a record month.The business is more than 30 times larger than it was four-plus years ago, with the same small team.

“Our headcount is small, but our business continues to grow.”