For God so loved the world.

That verse sits in the footer of every page on this site. This page explains why it is there, what it means for how CalorieCounter is built, and where 10 percent of everything this app earns goes.

By Alen Yaco · Double bachelor's in biological sciences and social ecology, UC Irvine · Published 18 September 2026

We are a Christian company, and we would rather say so plainly

CalorieCounter is made by people who follow Jesus. That is not a marketing angle and it is not a filter on who the app is for. It is simply true, and hiding it felt dishonest on a site whose whole argument is that you should be able to see how something works before you trust it.

Saying it changes what we are willing to ship. An app about food sits close to something tender in people. It would be easy to build one that makes money from guilt, because guilt converts. We will not, and the reason is not a growth strategy.

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31

The tithe: 10 percent, off the top

Ten percent of everything CalorieCounter earns is given away. Not 10 percent of profit, which is a number a company can define into nothing. Ten percent of what Apple actually pays us for subscriptions, taken out before we pay ourselves, before servers, before anything else.

The same ring the app uses for your day, doing something else here.

The app has not launched yet, so to be precise about it: nothing has been given away so far, because nothing has been earned. The commitment starts with the first subscription, and what has gone out will be published on this page, with amounts and recipients, rather than described in the abstract.

Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase.

Proverbs 3:9

Where it goes

To organisations doing the work the Gospel actually asks for, with a bias toward the ones closest to what this app is about. We look for four things:

• Food in hands. Hunger relief, food banks, and school feeding, at home and abroad. An app about counting food should help people who cannot count on having any.
• Clean water and basic medicine. The cheapest way to keep a child alive is still a well and a clinic.
• The local church at work. Congregations feeding and housing people in their own neighbourhoods, where a small amount goes a long way and nobody takes a salary off the top.
• Accountability. Published finances, real reporting, and a track record. Generosity is not an excuse to be careless about where money lands.

The first recipients will be named here when they are chosen, and every gift after that will be listed. If you know an organisation that fits, tell us about it. We read every message.

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink.

Matthew 25:35

What it changes inside the app

Faith is easy to put on an About page and hard to put in a product. Here is where it actually shows up.

• No shame as a feature. There are no cheat days, no bad foods, and no loss animation when a streak ends. A day over your target gets one sentence and tomorrow is unchanged. People are not improved by being made to feel small.
• Honest numbers. Every estimate says how sure it is, and we never publish an accuracy percentage we could not defend. A number that pretends to a certainty it does not have is a small lie told for money.
• Free where it matters. Barcode, search, your diary and your history stay free forever, because the people who need a food diary most are often the ones who can least afford another subscription.
• Nothing sold behind your back. No ads, and no selling what you eat to anyone. Your diary is yours.

For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving.

1 Timothy 4:4

That verse is why this app will never call a food bad. Food is a gift. Counting it is a tool, not a moral scoreboard.

If you believe something else, you are welcome here

This page is a statement about us, not a requirement of you. CalorieCounter asks nobody what they believe, and it never will. Whatever you think of the verse in the footer, the app treats you the same way: honest numbers, no judgment, and your data kept out of anyone else's hands.

Giving thanks

Everything here was built by one person who was, not long ago, writing surgical notes in a vascular clinic and teaching himself to code at night. Whatever this becomes, we did not get here alone, and the tithe is the smallest honest way to say so.

God loveth a cheerful giver.

2 Corinthians 9:7