Niels van Hoof, a graduate of Dutch design school Design Academy Eindhoven, recently created the Taggie mobile phone app to help teach children about the food they eat. A kid can use the Taggie app while his or her parent shops to scan various food items’ barcodes. The app then pulls up a set of information about the food item to give kids (and adults) more insight on how healthy (or unhealthy) the food product is.

While this seems like a great feat for health and wellness, this is also a great step forward for addressing an issue that affects the digital divide.

Taggie App: Healthy Food Choices And The Digital Divide

Here at Reset, we have covered the effects of income disparity on San Franciscans’ ability to get healthy food. We have also covered the issue of the digital divide, which states that there is inequality in access to high-speed internet that in turn harms the internet have-nots’ ability to access vital information (such as where to get healthy food for a low price) and complete everyday tasks such as doing homework or applying for a job. In fact, according to the Pew Research Center, 18% of African-Americans and 10% of White Americans access the Internet through their mobile phones in lieu of at-home Internet access.

With that said, the Taggie app is a great step toward making information on healthy eating available for more people. It is a mobile app that allows smartphone users and their children to quickly look up and learn nutritional facts about their potential grocery store buys. Granted, there also is the disparity between the haves and have-nots of smartphones in addition to the digital divide, but this is a great start toward democratizing information on healthy eating.

Niels van Hoof is still developing the app, so check back here for information on downloading it.