Wanted: Android developer to help with Gamified Recipe App for the Climate

Time: a few hours a week (or more) | Volunteer position

Fork Ranger’s mission is to help millions of people switch to a healthy and sustainable diet with the Fork Ranger app: a gamified recipe app. Now we’re looking for an Android developer to (alongside volunteers David and Jesse) help us bring the existing Android app to the next level.

The current version has already 10K+ downloads and more than 1000 reviews with a rating of 4.9 🤩

The Mission

The food system makes up a third of all greenhouse gases and most of it comes from eating too much meat. Alongside fossil fuels, it’s one of the most destructive forces on the planet.

The simplest solution is to change our diet. We don’t have to become vegan, only to make meat a luxury product for the weekend. A lot of people are interested to eat more sustainably but don’t know where to start. That’s where Fork Ranger is going to help.

The logo and app shown in the video below have changed a bit, but our approach hasn’t changed!

It all started when Frank found out about the huge impact of meat but was frustrated with most vegetarian recipes. They had unknown ingredients or weren’t filling enough. So he created a book that explains the problem and gives ‘user-friendly’ recipes. It has helped hundreds of people to eat less meat and now we’re turning this into a digital experience.

Through recipes and food we want to inspire people to be part of the solution for a better world. We want people to feel like they can make a difference when it comes to climate change. It’s about offering a new version of ‘the good life’ that is not centred around consumerism but a purposeful life.

What is Fork Ranger?

We are working towards our mission in three ways:

• The Fork Ranger app
• Selling the Fork Ranger book and seasonal calendar
• Sharing the mission through speaking

The app

Take a look at the app

We’re working on a habit changing app. Users answer a daily quiz question about sustainable food. After answering, they see an infographic and then unlock a recipe to put knowledge into action.

Impact of the app

We are extremely proud that this approach is working: not only is the app reaching meat eaters but it’s also helping them to reduce! 73% of omnivore and flexetarian users eat less meat after using the free Fork Ranger app. You can read more about it in this press release.

The story of the Android app

We have taken an unusual approach: we started with 3 volunteers who are specialized in SwiftUI. So we experimented with the iOS app for a few years until we figured out what worked.

That’s when the point came to add an Android app. So for the past 1.5 years our Android volunteers have been copying the features with React Native. The current Android app has 95% of the features of the iOS app.

About Us 

I hope that by now you’re excited about Fork Ranger. Time to tell you a little about ourselves so you know what you’re getting into 😉

Frank and Mareike are the founders and get help from 12 (!) awesome people who help us in their spare time.

Frank is a storyteller and dreamer who loves to translate complicated topics like climate change into inspiring designs and stories. He created the Fork Ranger book and then Mareike joined him to create the app.

Mareike makes sure everything stays on track. She has a keen eye for details and structuring messy ideas. She’s also vegetarian since she’s 14 because somebody told her ‘you will never keep this up’.

From left to right: David – Mareike – Frank – Joost – Kevin – Mali – Casper – Melissa – David – Jordi (many more have joined who are not in this picture, but active members of the volunteering team)

Why do we work with volunteers?

Mareike and Frank work full-time on Fork Ranger and the rest of the team helps as volunteers.

In the beginning, we were looking for investors. But it was tricky to align our mission with a business model. So we decided that we are a mission first, business second. Our goal became to be self-funded so we can stay independent. We are doing this by selling the book and seasonal calendar and through speaking. Last year, Mareike and Frank earned a bit less than minimum wage and our goal for this year is to get to a ‘normal’ salary.

We find it complicated to ask someone to do work for free. But we’ve also learned from our team that volunteer work brings a different kind of energy. It’s always about finding a win-win for everyone (besides contributing to the mission). For example, for our iOS developers it’s about learning from each other and having fun.

And let’s not forget, it’s in our long-term plan to see how we can share the success of Fork Ranger with our volunteers.

About You

Besides the practical points that you either speak Dutch or English there are three main things we’re looking for: 

1) Passionate about the mission
You don’t need to be a vegetarian but you should join for the right reasons: working on a solution for climate change. 2) Android developer
We’re looking for someone who has experience in a development team and is excited to build user-friendly apps. You will join David and Jesse in building the app in React Native. It would be great if you already have experience with Android apps, but not a requirement.

3) You’re a team player

Everyone works on the app when they have time, so it’s best if you like to take ownership over a specific part and can work on it by yourself, but at the same time you are interested in helping each other when needed and keeping the team informed.

The Job

• Responsibility:
  • Work on new features for the Android Fork Ranger app (together with David and Jesse)
    
  • Help solve bugs (Mareike will be in contact with users, so no need to handle communication)
• Time commitment: a few hours a week, flexibility is more important than time
• Salary: none
  
• Location: 
  • Remote is possible as most of the communication will be online (same timezone (Amsterdam) is preferred)
  • Preferred: attendance of team events in the Netherlands at least once a year is important for the team spirit and makes working together a lot smoother

What’s in it for you?

We’ve been working on Fork Ranger for five years and made some good progress. If you’re looking for a thrilling side project to improve the world, this might be a good opportunity to step into something promising. 

In short, this is what we can offer:

• A chance to make a big impact on food & climate
• The joy and friendship of working together on an exciting project
• Working in a startup that has the opportunity to inspire millions of people

What is a bad fit?

• Prefer to work alone
• Mainly looking for a technical challenge rather than excited about a great user experience
• Seeing it as a short term project

What is a good fit? 

• Want to make the world a better place
• Taking initiative and bringing in own ideas
• Love for great UX
• Works fast and thinks in solutions
  

How to get in touch

Send an email to frank@forkranger.com and mareike@forkranger.com and tell us something about these three points. You can write in English or Dutch.

1. Some personal things: where do you live? What are you currently working on?
2. Mission: why would you like to join? What excites you most about this project?
3. App experience: what is your experience? What have you been working on? (send us the name of an app :-))

 

Disclaimer: Don’t expect a reply if you simply send in your CV or ask questions in the comments section.

Looking forward to your email!

 

May the forks be with you!

Frank & Mareike