The campaign, Make Time for Change, in partnership with Frigidaire and Jennifer Garner, a long-time food advocate, is supporting Save the Children as part of Frigidaire Kids' Cooking Academy Summer Session.
Users are encouraged to share their favorite local market, and to post stories, photos and video to their online communities. For each checkin to a local market, Frigidaire will also make a $1 donation to Save the Children's CHANGE program, which gives nutritious snacks to children living in poverty in rural Africa. Frigidaire's donations are part of its $500,000 commitment to the cause.
The site's resources include a national map of markets, suggested recipes using in-season ingredients and information about the causes. There's also a Cooking Academy aimed at getting kids and their families interested in making healthy meals.
It's a smart partnership for Gowalla and Frigidaire. Gowalla, positioning itself as an active alternative to Foursquare, is branding itself as a platform built around action -- hence Gowalla. The call for stories and images helps drive community.
Frigidaire, meanwhile, is promoting a new line of refrigerators that help keep food fresher longer. The company has connected its technology to an engaged community that may want to eat fresh but lack the means to keep all of their organic food fresh.