US technology giant company, Google has announced a new search tool to help combat food insecurity for a ‘one-stop shop’ for people with food insecurity. The ‘Find Food Support’ tool is powered by Google Maps by which people can use to search for their nearest food bank, food pantry, or school lunch program pickup site in their community.

According to Verge, the company is working with non-profit groups like No Kid Hungry and FoodFinder, as well as the US Department of Agriculture, to aggregate 90,000 locations with free food support across all 50 states- with more locations to come.

The tech company also designed a website for the product of Google’s newly formed ‘Food for Good team’ formerly known as Project Delta which was headquartered at Alphabet’s X moonshot division. The project Delta’s mission is to “create a number of the food system”, which includes standardizing data to improve the communication between food distributers to curb food waste.

Food insecurity is defined by the US Department of Agriculture as a lack of consistent access to enough food for a healthy, active life. The number of people experiencing food insecurity spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting an estimated 45 million people or 1 in 7 Americans, including 15 million children.

Google says that searches for “food bank near me”, “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)”, “Food stamps application”, and “School lunch pick up” reached record highs during 2020.

In addition to the new food location site, Google is publishing five new videos on YouTube aimed at de-stigmatizing food insecurity. The site will also include links to food support hotlines, state-by-state benefit guides, and information for specific communities, such as seniors, families, and children, and military families. Visitors can also find information about how you can donate food, time, and money to support those in need.