Here are just three worth checking out:

NorthBourne Foods, a small food distributor in the Houston area known for its meat and produce, wants to bring higher quality food to low-income communities in the state. "We would like to expand delivery with our own vans to areas considered 'food deserts,' and we would also like to offer lower cost and high-quality products to individuals within these communities, schools, grocers and smaller restaurants which usually can't afford to buy healthy products," says Bryant Greer, a founder of the company. It's asking for donations for two refrigerated vans to replace the rented vans they now use to reach these areas.

From the minds of Knapsack Creative in San Francisco comes OmieBox, a colorful plastic lunchbox that includes a vacuum-insulated bowl that lets kids keep foods hot or cold in the same lunch box — no more hot yogurt next to lukewarm soup. It's like a bento box on speed. The company is trying to raise $40,000 for tooling and materials to take its design into production.

Thu Huynh of Australia wants to be your traveling companion on the streets of Saigon, showing you how to seek out the best of Vietnam's hidden foodways. She's looking for $4,000 to finalize travel and production of her guidebook, Ho Chi Minh City, A Food Scene Guide.

Copyright 2014 NPR.

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