Where can you expand your vocabulary while donating rice to end world hunger at the same time? The only answer is www.freerice.com, a non-profit website that has created a program where visitors play a vocabulary game. For every word that is correctly defined, FreeRice donates 20 grains of rice towards a total amount that is distributed by the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), the world’s largest food aid agency.

When the home page pops up, four words appear underneath a definition. Users must click on the right word in order to move onto the next one. FreeRice has a database that first evaluates users with a few words and then automatically custom-fits the rest according to how they did with the test words. When users miss a word, they move down a level, but if they get three right in a row, they move up to a harder level. There are 50 levels total, but it is rare that someone passes the 48th level, according to the Web site. FreeRice records the number of times each word is correctly defined by the millions of players that visit the site everyday. If more people get the word right, it is accordingly adjusted to its difficulty level.

The site originally donated 10 grains of rice for each correct answer, but increased the amount to 20 grains on Nov. 28, according to the Web site. The WFP decided to distribute rice because it is the staple crop for half of the world’s population and the world’s third most purchased commodity, according to the WFP Web site. “I think it’s a good experience because people can learn vocabulary words while feeding people at the same time,” sophomore Garrett Freehling said.

Advertisers whose ads appear on the side, pay for the rice. The site has now donated over 4.5 million grains of rice since Nov. 28.

Many students at Gunn have heard about the organization through the social network Facebook, FreeRice created a group where people can post their daily rice contributions, which all adds up towards a total amount that is tallied. “I saw an article on the BBC News Web site [about FreeRice], which prompted me to start the group,” Facebook FreeRice group creator and Nottingham Trent University Alumnus Perry Chan wrote in a Facebook message. ”What I wanted to do with the group was to raise awareness about the Web site.”

According to Chan, while the Web site is for a good cause, it should do more to educate users about world poverty. “I feel that the group has done a relatively good job in raising awareness about the website,” he wrote, “but I’m not sure if the group has raised enough awareness about the underlying message on helping to battle world hunger. The game is fun; it helps to increase vocabulary and helps a good cause, and for those who dig a little deeper, they will find more information on how to help end hunger.”

Junior Ellen Su said she feels the site is putting the Internet to good use. “It’s a great untapped resource—the spare brain cells of bored Internet surfers,” she said. “There are so many Internet games out there that are utterly useless, but things like this are really taking people’s boredom and directing it in a positive direction.”