Food&Share wins Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s 2021 Congressional App Challenge in Washington’s Seventh District

When asked what inspired the creation of Food&Share, the students said, “As long-time volunteers at the Ballard Food Bank, we were aware of some of the food bank’s problems. As we were working there, we realized that users without access to a computer sometimes had trouble accessing the entire website, and we realized that a mobile app might better connect the food bank to its patrons. The idea to create an app for the Ballard Food Bank combined our passion for service with our curiosity for coding, giving us the perfect opportunity to give back.

 During the summer, Ian and I (Benjamin) rode our bikes across town to volunteer in person. While there, we talked with Sarah, Forrest, and many other amazing volunteers. We figured out what the food bank needed most through close collaboration and sharing of ideas and added those features to our app. At night, we stayed up late teaching ourselves SwiftUI/Xcode. The fantastic people we’ve worked with and helped through the app inspire us to persist through the obstacles we encounter. And most importantly, we’ve learned to use technology to help our community, encouraging us to tackle larger projects in the future.”