2024 Food Insecurity Challenge: Iowa State Students Tackle Hunger with Bold Ideas

Food insecurity affects more than 925 million people globally and 300,000 people in the state of Iowa alone. These alarming statistics illustrate the critical need for innovative solutions to the problem of food insecurity, inspiring over 100 Iowa State University students from all six undergraduate colleges to collaborate on tackling this pressing issue.

On November 19, the Food Insecurity Challenge, hosted by the Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship, the Ivy College of Business, and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, brought 21 cross-disciplinary teams of students to the Memorial Union to pitch their ideas. This campus-wide competition encouraged students to address food insecurity—defined by the USDA as a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life—by creating actionable and impactful solutions.

Students spent two weeks preparing their pitches after the competition’s November 6 kickoff. When they came back together to pitch their ideas in front of a panel of judges, 21 unique ideas were brought to the table, many of which focused on local initiatives, such as improving food access on campus.

Following the preliminary round, the judges surprised the students by selecting three runner-up teams, who each received a $500 prize for their efforts. Additionally, three teams moved on to the finale where they would present their ideas in front of a new panel of judges and their peers. The runner-up teams were as follows:

• Alaina Gebel, Camryn Buseman, Samantha Aagard, Soliana Janni, and Julia Letsche with “Youth 4 Local Solutions Summit”. They proposed educating high school students on food insecurity through a summit event to empower them as part of the solution.
• Allison Hubbell, Eamon Collins, and Lochlan Collins with “Kids Can Cook” which focused on teaching rural 4th and 5th graders essential cooking and nutrition skills to foster healthy habits on a budget.
• Madison Bemis, Kaylee Clausen, Olivia Poppen, and Anna Ryan with “FoodForward” aimed to reduce food waste and improve access through a MyState app extension that connects students with surplus food from university events.

Winning Projects

First Place ($5,000): “Cys’ Lockers”

• Andrew Holtz, Miguel Bojorquez, and Antonio Reyes-Munoz with “Cys’ Lockers”, a network of private food lockers offering 24/7 access to those facing food insecurity, ensuring dignity and convenience.

Second Place ($2,500): “Kindcart”

• Tadiwa Mbuwayesango, Thabang Pila, Japneet Singh, and Liam Willcox with “Kindcart”,platform designed to support individuals who are elderly, disabled, or food insecure by enabling them to order food directly from food pantries. It also facilitates collaboration among food pantries, allowing them to communicate and share resources efficiently. Additionally, Kindcart offers a phone-based service to assist those in areas with limited internet access, ensuring equitable connectivity and support.

Third Place ($1,500): “College Kitchen”

• Mallorie Mogler, Ellyse Shippee, Daniella Thuerauf, and Grace Watkins-Schoenig with “College Kitchen”, an exploratory course teaching college students how to cook nutritious, budget-friendly meals.

Dreams of Impact Beyond the Competition

Daniella Thuerauf with the “College Kitchen” team, expressed excitement about turning their idea into a real course at Iowa State:

“We know that many college students are on a tight budget for their meals, and they often end up eating cheap, unhealthy meals. We wanted to find a solution that would give students the knowledge and skills to cook their own healthy meals that are just as affordable. We are super excited about the possibility of moving forward with this project and would love to see it become a real course at Iowa State next year!  We’ve already set up some meetings with ISU staff to see if we can make this idea a reality.”

Japneet Singh, part of the “Kindcart” team, is committed to expanding the app:

“Our immediate next step is to launch the website and establish partnerships with food pantries in Ames… Our ultimate goal is clear: to eliminate food insecurity not only in the United States but globally by streamlining the allocation of resources and ensuring that food reaches those who need it most.”

The 2024 Food Insecurity Challenge proved the power of collaboration and innovation, inspiring Iowa State students to create solutions with the potential to transform communities. This annual event continues to foster impactful ideas and build a vision of a world free from hunger.