Foodstand Challenges FAQs

What is Foodstand?

Foodstand helps teams and individuals turn the basic principles of healthy eating into everyday habits through bite-sized, joyful Challenges via our platform and mobile app. Challenges are founded on basic good eating principles that apply to everyone:

• Eat less processed food
• Eat more plants
• Eat fewer animal products
• Eat more mindfully

Based on the science of behavior change, Foodstand provides education, daily support, and social accountability to help you make small changes each day that translate to big improvements to your health—no fad diets or calorie counting required.

Who can join Foodstand?

Anyone over the age of 13! Foodstand is a free app. Whether you burn rice, or brulee on the regular, use Foodstand to build or maintain good habits. If you want to join as an individual, you can download the Free Foodstand app from the iTunes or Google Play stores. The app allows you to join one of 20 guided Challenges that will help you build and maintain healthy eating habits. You can also add up to 5 accountability buddies for free.

If you’d like to bring Foodstand’s Challenges to an office, school, or community group, you can sign up for Foodstand Challenges for Teams. Through this enhanced paid program, we provide an end-to-end wellness solution focused on healthy eating habits. We guide teams through Challenges, host competitions, provide one-on-one support, allow for team-based accountability, and help you track your impact. For more information and to request a demo, visit thefoodstand.com/teams.

What does Foodstand cost?

Our custom Team Challenges platform starts at $5/person per Challenge, and includes unlimited buddies, daily one-on-one support, video workshops, custom weekly emails, and impact reporting.

Individuals may download the Foodstand app for free in the app store. Our free app includes all of our Challenges for you to complete at your own pace, with a maximum of five buddies.

What’s your mission?

Foodstand’s mission is to make good eating easier for everyone. We wish we could live in a world where good food is the default, instead of the exception. But we know that isn’t the case, so for now, we’ll help make good food choices YOUR default. We do so by helping people turn healthy eating into an everyday habit one bite at a time.

What do you mean by ‘Good Eating’?

Our good eating manifesto: - Ask what’s on our plates - Choose foods that keep us healthy - Eat food that is grown or produced with integrity - Support makers that treat people fairly and animals humanely - Source what we eat locally when possible - Strive to eat more plants - Cook from home when we can - Waste less food

How do I participate in a Challenge as an individual?

As an individual, simply download the Foodstand appoodstand.com/download). You can choose a Challenge right after you register as a new member, or navigate to the orange ‘My Challenge’ tab once you have the app set up on your phone. Then check in! The specific Challenge dictates how often (every time you eat or drink, after breakfast, before bed, etc.). Once you’ve succeeded at Level I (one day), you’ll move to Level II, and so on, until you get through all five levels. At that point, we’ll recommend the next Challenge and periodically check in on all your habits.

How can I start a Team Challenge?

Simply visit our Foodstand for Teams page to schedule a demo and get started. Please note that there is a minimum of 10 participants per team.

What are Good Eating Challenges? How do they work?

Foodstand offers 20 different Good Eating Challenges, each targeting a specific, actionable healthy habit (drinking less soda, avoiding added sugar, eating five servings of fruits and veggies per day, etc.). Each specific Challenge (habit) helps you build our four simple rules for good eating into your daily life—eat less processed food, eat more plants, eat less animal products, and eat more mindfully—one bite, and one habit at a time.

Each Challenge lasts a total of 30 days, and is split into five levels, encouraging small steps and wins along the way. To participate in a Challenge, you’ll check in throughout the day by simply drawing a check mark in the app if you are successful, or using a Free Pass if you slip.

How is this app different from the other food trackers on the market?

There are countless apps for logging every morsel you eat and tracking calories, but so few focus on what really counts—good food choices. And even fewer provide a truly fun and joyful experience in the journey to creating your healthiest self.

We know that all calories aren’t created equal, so Foodstand gives you a better way to build healthy habits for the long-term. Through Good Eating Challenges like Avoid Sugar at Breakfast and Avoid Fast Food, we make it fun and easy to track your good food choices. No matter where you’re starting from, Good Eating Challenges help you pursue progress over perfection, a proven method for sustainable change.

Will I need to log my meals or track my calories?

Absolutely not! Counting calories and logging meals has proven to not work, and can even encourage bad habits since it’s much easier to log an unhealthy frozen dinner or packaged snack than something you cooked yourself using real-food ingredients. Foodstand provides a better and easier way by tracking habits and rewarding you for good choices.

Why is it better to track good habits than count calories?

Most registered dietitians, nutritionists, and health professionals will tell you NOT to count calories because not all calories are created equal, it’s impossible to count accurately, and counting calories is actually much more tedious with fresh, healthy food.

Instead of counting calories, we’re simply asking you to track good choices—one habit at a time—with a simple on-app check-in. We know monitoring your habits with simple goals works (e.g. Fitbit, runkeeper, etc), and all you need to do is track the one habit you’re working on. By celebrating small daily wins and focusing on progress over perfection, you’ll build sustainable, lifelong habits, and actually enjoy the process along the way.

How will Good Eating Challenges make me healthier?

Despite the confusion you may experience when reading about one of many fad diets, healthy eating is quite simple and consistent. The experts all teach the same thing: Dr. Walter Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health breaks it down in this NY Times letter, Michael Pollan simplifies it with his Food Rules, Dr. Marion Nestle wrote a book about it, and Dr. David Katz wrote a comprehensive Q&A on the topic—just to name a few.

Our Good Eating Challenges are based on these consistent guidelines from the leading experts: eat less processed food, eat more plants, eat fewer animal products, and eat more mindfully. By eating with these four ideas in mind, you’ll likely reduce your risk for obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and a host of other diet-related diseases. You’ll also help make the planet healthier by eating a more sustainable diet. And while we can’t promise weight-loss, many of our users have reported losing weight as a by-product of making healthier choices via our Challenges.

Our Challenges have been co-curated with leaders in public health including the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, researchers are Harvard School of Public Health, Center for Science in the Public Interest, and the True Health Initiative, just to name a few.

How long is each Challenge?

Each Challenge lasts a total of 30 days, and is split into levels: Level I is one day, Level II is three days, Level III is five days, Level IV is seven days, and Level V is 14 days. You can always restart a Challenge if you feel like you want more accountability.

Can I do more than one Challenge at a time?

Currently you can only do one Challenge at a time. Studies show that tackling one new habit at a time increases your likelihood of success!

Can I stop, pause or change my Challenge?

Sure! Simply tap the gear icon in the upper right corner of your orange ‘My Challenge’ screen. To pause, tap “Pause Challenge” and set a date you’d like to restart to receive a reminder. You can also stop the Challenge or change your Challenge. Note that if you change your Challenge, the original Challenge will stop, and your new Challenge will begin. You can always go back to your original Challenge later. Your profile will show your overall Challenge progress even if you stop in the middle.

How often do I check in?

You should check in at least once a day to help you stay accountable, but for some Challenges, it is better to check in each time you eat or drink something. For example if you’re doing the Eat Less Meat Challenge, you’ll check in every time you eat anything. Even if you just had an apple as a snack, you avoided meat, so be sure to check in! For other Challenges like Avoid Sugar at Breakfast, Make Your Lunch, Cook Dinner, or Stop Eating 2 Hours Before Bed, you’ll check in once per day after you complete the Challenge action.

What if I missed a check-in? Can I go back?

You can go back one day to report a missed check-in. Just tap the back arrow on the green check-in screen to report yesterday’s progress. You can’t go back more than one day (if it’s Wednesday, you can’t check in for Monday) because we know that to build good habits, it’s best to check in right after you complete an action. No big deal if you missed more than 2 days—you can always restart!

What if I don’t tell the truth?

No sweat off our backs, you’re only hurting yourself ;) We know building good eating habits is SUPER hard and we all have days where we make choices we aren’t so proud of—and that’s okay! Slipping means you’re trying and that’s what’s most important. If you tell the truth every time you slip, even if you use all of your Free Passes, you’re more likely to be successful at actually building the habit. And don’t worry, by default all of your check-ins are private, so people won’t see unless you want them to.

What is a Free Pass?

A Free Pass is an allowable slip for the habit you’re working on. For example, if you’re doing the Avoid Soda Challenge, check in by using a Free Pass at the bottom of your check-in screen if you drank soda. If you just consumed a sip or two, you can use a Half Pass.

Each Challenge level comes with a number of Free Passes for a variety of reasons. First, new habits take time to build, and nobody expects perfection right off the bat. Additionally, there are some Challenges that encourage you to do less of something, such as Eat Less Meat. In this instance, we aren’t encouraging vegetarianism—a serving of 100% grass-fed beef, a serving of free-range chicken, and a serving of wild salmon each week can be a great part of a healthy diet—however most Americans eat too much meat, and should eat less. So using your Free Passes during a Challenge of this sort is encouraged. Nutritious diets are all about moderation.

What are buddies?

Buddies are other Foodstanders who can see a summary of your progress on the purple buddies tab, receive updates when you need help, and can easily send you encouragement and kudos. You can find your buddies on the purple buddies tab. You can invite someone to be your buddy via the purple buddies tab using text, email, or if they are already on Foodstand, typing in their username. Buddies will see a summary of your challenge participation, including a streak, success rate, and information on when you last checked in. Buddies will not see a detailed log of all your check-ins unless you share that check-in publicly. You can always add or remove buddies on the “Requests” tab of the purple Buddies page.

How do I add buddies?

As an individual you can add up to five buddies to join a Challenge with you, to help you stay on track. As a team member, you will automatically be buddied up with your teammates, but you can also add friends and family members not on your team to join Foodstand and be buddies (with no added cost to your employer/school). You’re twice as likely to succeed at a habit when you do it with a friend.

Tap the purple ‘Buddies’ tab, followed by the plus sign icon in the upper right corner of the screen. You can add an existing Foodstand user, or invite friends or family via text or email.

What are points?

You can earn points by checking in, completing a level or Challenge, and by commenting on others’ posts. Stay tuned for special opportunities to get real life amazing stuff for all the points you’ve earned.

Can others see my progress?

By default your detailed Challenge check-ins are private. If you want to share a check-in or success with the Foodstand community or on social media, click ‘share this check-in’ after you’ve checked in.

If you’re an individual user with buddies, or are a Foodstand for Teams user, your overall progress and success are visible to your buddies and teammates.

Can I host a Foodstand Challenge at my school?

Yes! We can host Challenges at your school. It’s a great way to get students, teachers, and families involved in healthy, sustainable eating. For schools who serve students under the age of 13, we have additional consent requirements. Sign up for a demo to learn more.

The kids at my school don’t have smartphones. Can they still participate?

Yes. We encourage the parents and guardians of school-age children to check in as a family. When conducting Foodstand for Teams in the elementary and middle school setting, we provide communications targeted at the adults in the family, as well as teachers, to guide their students through the Challenge. Your child can make the check mark on your phone for you, and participate in other ways too, such as by helping you grocery shop, prepare meals, engage in conversation surrounding the Challenge.

Can students under the age of 13 participate?

As an individual user, Foodstand is for people over the age of 13. If you would like to bring Foodstand Challenges to a school with kids under the age of 13 as a Team program, we require additional consent from parents and guardians. Schedule a demo to learn more.

I have certain food restrictions. Can I still participate?

Yes. We have Challenges for everyone. Whether you’re allergic to certain foods, have celiac disease, have type 1 or 2 diabetes, don’t eat meat, etc., we have a Challenge for you. If you have specific questions about your unique diet or medical condition in relation to a specific Challenge, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Please also consult your healthcare provider before making any major changes to your diet.

How do I invite friends to join Foodstand?

From your blue ‘My Profile’ tab, tap the gear icon in the upper right, then tap ‘Invite Friends.’ You can invite specific individuals via text or email, or share on social media.

Can I suggest another Challenge for you to launch?

Absolutely. If you have an idea for a Good Eating Challenge that could help you or others build better eating habits, email us with the info at info@dietid.com.

Can I post recipes and good eating ideas?

For sure! Be sure to tag which Challenge(s) your recipes and ideas could help with in the ‘best for’ section when you post. For example, if you make a zucchini and mushroom tart, that could help people doing the ‘Cook Dinner,’ ‘Eat Less Meat,’ ‘Eat 3/5 Servings of Fruits and Vegetables Per Day,’ and ‘Avoid Added Sugar’ Challenges.

I’m a food professional. Can I promote my work on Foodstand?

Yes. The best way to share your work is to make sure you tag the Challenge(s) it pertains to in the ‘best for’ category when you post. For example, if you’re an artisan who makes a product without any added sugar, be sure to tag the Avoid Added Sugar Challenge, because Foodstand users are always looking for easy ways to keep up with their Challenges.

I’m a Registered Dietitian/Nutrition professional. Can I get involved to help?

Yes yes yes! We are grateful for all of the nutrition professionals and registered dietitians who have weighed in on the Challenges and guidebooks, and have helped us help more people build better habits. Drop us a note at info@dietid.com with your background and how you’d be interested in supporting our efforts. We would love to hear from you.

Got other questions? Email us at info@dietid.com