We put an extremely large amount of effort into making the website as user-friendly as possible, and we did an outstanding job. We combined the technology of many different massive and global websites compacted all into one website specifically designed for the “eating” community along with everyone else interested in the world of food challenges and competitive eating. With that being said, we currently don’t have the budget that any of those companies have, so we had to make some adjustments so users don’t kill the servers while searching for food challenges. There are also adjustments that were made to our social media platform along  with other parts of the website. The purpose of this “Help” page is to answer all frequently asked questions so that our users have a smoother and more beneficial experience while using the site. If you have a question that has not yet been answered below, please be sure to contact us so we can get the issue answered. You are probably not the first person who has had that question. All answers are broken down into sections to allow for easy navigation:

Searching For Food Challenges Using The Map Search & List Search

– When map searching for food challenges in the USA, you can search by city, state, or zip code. If you live in a smaller town, just search by state, and all food challenges in your state will show up. There is a search bar at the top left that you can keep using to search for other states. If you are wanting to search for a city, you are better off using the zip code than the city name. If you type in the city, only the challenges tagged to that city will show up. If you use the zip code, all challenges within 150 miles (2 hours) will show up which gives you much better results. We cannot at this time turn on all of the challenges during a map search because that would require very expensive hosting servers. The map search function uses Google Maps, but we aren’t Google.

– ONLY ZIP CODES IN THE USA FUNCTION CORRECTLY. ALL POSTAL CODES WILL NOT WORK.

– When map searching in Australia or Canada, it would be most efficient to search by state or province. You can also search by city of course, but then only challenges tagged to that city will show up. As mentioned above, please do not use postal codes. States & Provinces can be searched by full name or abbreviation. You may also simply search “Australia” or “Canada” to bring up all results and then just zoom in on the area of your choice.

– When map searching in all other countries, you are better off searching by country, and not city unless it is a very large city. Even then, you may miss some of the surrounding challenges. Do not use any postal codes.

– This will not work for Europe or North America, but you may search “Asia” to bring up all Asian challenges.

– There are some restaurant locations with multiple challenges. When zoomed out, a restaurant with multiple challenges will look like it only has one, but you should be able to see more as you zoom in. It is easier to find the multiple challenges during list searches, rather than map searches. The main goal of the map search is to simply let you know that the particular restaurant has a challenge. To see if they have multiple challenges, you need to zoom in closer. Please note there is not a large amount of restaurants with multiple food challenges.

– If you live in a city with a common name such as Springfield, be sure to include the state / province after it.

– When using a desktop computer or laptop, you will have a much easier time sorting through challenges via both search applications if you just right click on each “Read More” banner and select “Open link in new tab.”

– When using the List Search application, the only way to search for new challenges in a different country is to simply start over again by clicking “List Search” beneath Challenges on the top menu. There is no easier way.

– These tips should answer 99% of issues that you may encounter when searching for food challenges. If you encounter a problem that is not answered in this article, please contact us so that we can solve the issue.

– If you cannot find a particular food challenge while searching the site, but you know the challenge exists, especially if it just recently started, please help us add it to our database by clicking Submit A Challenge.

Signing Up To Become A Member Of Our Eating Community

– You must start on the homepage by filling out all the boxes in the red banner above the map. Your username must be one word without any spaces included. You can use numbers and letters, but not symbols. The only symbols allowed are (-), (_) and (.) which can be used to join two words rather than including a space between them. Having spaces will result in errors. The username functions similarly to a Twitter handle in some ways. The username is up to you, but please remember that a simple username makes it easier to find you, which makes it easier for other eaters, promoters, and fans to connect with you, which is the whole goal of becoming a member. Once you have selected a username, choose which email you want to use. You are able to adjust all of your email and notification settings later. Pick whether you are a Food Fighter (eater), Fan, or Promoter (restaurant owner). Then select and confirm the password that you will use. Once you have entered all of the required information correctly, a button displaying “Sign Up” will clearly appear so that you can click that and continue to page 2.

– Your username MUST be 4 characters or more. Three or less will NOT work or be saved into our system.

– After clicking “Sign Up”, you will be taken to page 2 which has more personal profile information. Fill out all of the boxes labeled (required). You do not have to add a profile banner yet, but the option is available. Please note that this is NOT your profile picture. It is more similar to a Facebook or Twitter cover photo. Your “Rating” is explained below, and is used to rate Food Fighters. If you are a “Fan” or “Promoter”, please select just “1 Star”. You don’t need to have your “About” section perfectly written at this time. There just needs to be something written there. The “Featured” box also relates only to “Food Fighters”. If you are a food fighter that wants to be able to be found via the Find An Eater search application, make sure that box is checked. Once you have all of the required boxes completed, please click “Complete Sign Up”. You will get a registration confirmation page.

– The registration confirmation page will explain that a verification email was immediately sent to the email address that you entered. If it does not appear within a few seconds in your inbox, please check your junk or spam mail folder. There have been multiple situations where email filters sent the verification email to the spam folder. If the email does not appear in either inboxes, you most likely entered your email address incorrectly. Please contact us to let us know that we need to delete your first submission or change the email address (easy fix) and resend the verification email. Once you’ve verified the account, you can log in and update your profile.

– We have successfully created accounts using Android cell phones and tablets, iPhones, iPads, and we have created profiles using Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari. If you have issues on your first attempt, please start over from the beginning using the tips in this section. If you are still having issues, please contact us and we will get them taken care of. We appreciate your interest in joining the community!!

Tips For Making Your Social Experience Better & Easier

– When searching and adding in information into your social media profile, it is best to avoid the use of periods. For example, use St Louis instead of St. Louis. There were no periods used in any tags, and therefore you will get the best results if you don’t use any periods either. Abbreviating St will work better than spelling out Saint.

– There are three different location settings that you will need to fill out for your profile. For “City,” please list the major city that you are located in. If you live in the USA, Canada, or Australia, “State/Province” refers to the state or province that your city is located in, so please fill that out with capital letters. If you live in the United Kingdom, please fill in the 3-letter abbreviation for which part of the UK you are located in. Use “ENG” for England, “WAL” for Wales, “NIR” for Northern Ireland, and “SCT” for Scotland. For everyone else, please leave this part blank. Please use the drop-down menu to select the country that you live in. The United Kingdom is “GBR” so please select that if you live in Great Britain. Not everyone will have to fill in a “State/Province.”

– When posting YouTube video links, social media links, and all other links when using the social media platform, please make sure to use the entire link, including http:// or https:// so the links work correctly.

– The star rating system was developed by FoodChallenges.com as a way to rate both eaters & challenges. A 1 star challenge weighs less than 3.5lbs (1.6kg). A 1 star eater is a person who cannot eat over 3.5lbs. A 2 star challenge weighs between 3.5lbs (1.6kg) and 5lbs (2.25kg). A 2 star eater is a person who can eat over 3.5lbs but not over 5lbs consistently. A 3 star challenge weighs between 5lbs (2.25kg) and 6.25lbs (2.75kg). A 3 star eater is a person who can eat over 5lbs but not over 6.25lbs consistently. A 4 star challenge weighs between 6.25lbs (2.75kg) and 8lbs (3.5kg). A 4 star eater is an individual who can eat over 6.25lbs but not over 8lbs consistently. A 5 star challenge is any challenge weighing over 8lbs (3.5kg). A 5 star eater is a person who can eat over 8lbs consistently. When you rank yourself, please be honest so that the website can maintain pretty consistent integrity. Please don’t list yourself as a 4 or 5 star eater unless you really are a professional eater.

– The profiles and forums were created so that they can be used!! Feel free to post photos, links, and other food related things. Update your profile so that is basically acts as your “eating resume”. Let us know how we can make your experience better!! All settings can be changed so feel free to adjust those anytime. If you have any questions, just contact us. We will get your questions answered, and also add the responses to this list too.