Enloe freshmen create app to help food pantries reduce waste

The project helped them advance through state, regional and now national competition hosted by E-Cyber Mission.

Arnav Meduri is one of three students on the app team along with Abhinav Meduri and Siddharth Maruvada.

"Students are challenged to explore problems in the community and create solutions for that problem," Meduri said.

In their research, they learned that one in six Americans live with food insecurity, while at the same time, 40 percent of food in the U.S. is thrown away every year.

The student team collaborated with Dr. Alice Ammerman with the Gillings School of Public Health as well as Gideon Adams and Angela Nesius with the Food Bank of Central and Eastern N.C.

To attack the problem, they piloted their project in two local food pantries on the front lines of fighting hunger. The students say their app is designed to help pantry workers track, monitor and eliminate food waste.

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The app displays several pie charts which reveal why so much pantry food is tossed out before it can be given to those in need.

Maruvada said the "Spoilage Reasons" chart shows "some examples are dented cans, excess moisture, foul smell, fungal growth and so forth."

In close collaboration with pantry workers, the team designed the app to help simplify food management and replace their older pen-and-paper methods.

The students' STEM/Health Sciences teacher Benicia Ledford is impressed with their commitment and teamwork.

"We never thought it would be this big, especially with freshmen. To have our students do so well and to make it to nationals is just amazing," she said.

The student team says their "Pantry Patrol Community App" has become more than just a school project or a competition. Whether they win or lose, the work will continue.

"Now our long-term goals are to roll this application out to 20 to 25 food pantries all across the state," said Maruvada.

The Enloe student team will present their "Pantry Patrol Community App" to judges at E-Cyber Mission’s national competition June 20 through 25.