BITES Bento wins Rep. Don Davis’ 2024 Congressional App Challenge in North Carolina’s First District
Rep. Don Davis has named Lydia Denton and Bethany Denton of Wilson Early College Academy as the winners of the 2024 Congressional App Challenge in North Carolina’s First District.
When asked what inspired the creation of BITES Bento, the students said, “We developed this for our friend who has diabetes and was struggling to maintain blood sugar levels. He would want to just eat a portion of his food or get food from a food truck, but struggled to know just how many carbs he had consumed to be able to calculate how much insulin he needed. Our friend can dump the food truck fries into the Bento box and we used the nutrition information on the website to determine the number of carbs/grams of food. Once he’s done eating, he can measure it again through the app and get a more accurate reading of the carbs consumed. We found that, depending on the person serving the fries, the weight could vary by as much as 25%!! Being able to weigh the food gives a more accurate picture of what is actually consumed and could help him manage his blood sugar better.”
This year’s Congressional App Challenge set new records, with an unprecedented 382 Members of the House of Representatives hosting competitions—surpassing the previous high of 374. An incredible 12,682 students from across the country participated, representing a growth of over 1,000 students compared to 2023. These talented students submitted an astounding 3,881 original applications, showcasing their creativity, passion for technology, and the limitless potential of America’s next generation of innovators. This surge in participation reflects the increasing excitement around STEM and highlights a bright future for American innovation.
The Congressional App Challenge is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Members of Congress host contests in their districts for middle school and high school students, encouraging them to learn to code and inspiring them to pursue careers in computer science. This resounding show of bipartisan support emphasizes the critical importance of STEM education in today’s rapidly evolving world. Each participating Member of Congress selects a winning app from their district, and each winning team is invited to showcase their winning app to Congress during our annual #HouseOfCode festival.
The program is a public-private partnership made possible through funding from the Broadcom Foundation, AWS, Rise, theCoderSchool, Apple, and others.
The 2024 Congressional App Challenge will launch in May of 2025, and eligible students can pre-register for the competition now.