Hungrry For An iPhone Scandal

Nothing says philanthropy like arresting a charity organization’s mascot, and no one’s more benevolent than the New York City media. That’s why on June 29, a news crew called the cops on Hungrr, the orange giant we don’t expect you to recognize from his namesake [website]. Hungrr—who was buying iPhones to auction off on eBay to raise money for the [Food Bank of Northwest Louisiana](http://www.foodbanknla.org/index1.cfm), which feeds Katrina victims—was hugging customers and handing out buttons to people [standing in lines](http://nypress.com/20/27/informationagent/agent4.cfm) at Apple stores in Manhattan. But the NBC news crew didn’t approve of his big, golden heart—or, more likely, his big, orange head, which was getting in the way of their shots—and promptly called the police to have the mascot escorted away. Check out photos of the incident [here](. http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=Hungrr) or the YouTube video below. Thank you NBC, your magnanimity is truly unmatched by anyone else in Gotham.

But not everyone is buying into Hungrr’s war on hunger. The blogosphere is abuzz with questions as to the legitimacy of the organization, and the company is missing from the [New York State Department of State Division of Corporations] database. On their website, Hungrr claims to be “a company that works to make people aware of the facts about hunger in America” through products that “are fun to own or eat or play with and that they will, in a whimsical way, remind people to think about the issues around hunger in America, and will encourage people to do a little good and feel good.” They vow that “whatever profit we make will be given as grants to people working in their communities to help their neighbors who need food.” They say they have no paid employees, are not a non-profit and claim just to be volunteers trying to do good humanitarian work. Whether you want to take them at their word or not is up to you, but knowing New York cynics, we’re sure you’d rather focus on the fact that you didn’t think to sell iPhones on eBay for profit.