A group of high school STEM students have a fresh idea for helping families in need: They’re building a refrigerated food pantry that can be accessed via app.
When juniors at Edison High School in Fairfax County, Virginia, had to come up with a project, they knew they wanted to help hungry families.
“I know for myself, I have so much privilege to be able to come to school and not really have to worry about having food at home,” student Cameron Hui said.
The teens are designing a refrigerated locker that will be installed at the school and give families access to fresh food 24/7.
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Here’s how it will work: Restaurants, gardeners or anyone else with food to spare can leave food in the locker and use the app to log what they left. People in need can then look at the app to see what inventory is in the fridge, and then come pick it up.
“People would be able to view it and say, ‘OK, I can use this for tonight's dinner,' and then bring it home to their kids," student Victoria Bujoreanu said.
The students submitted their design to Samsung’s national Solve for Tomorrow competition and were named state finalists, winning $2,500. They’ll now compete for the title of state champion and hopefully win more funding to build a prototype.
Student Layla Lahlou said she’s thankful to be able to put her STEM education to use.
“The opportunity to do something and apply what you've learned in all of your sciences and math and make an impact on someone, or make an impact on your community – I’m just so grateful to be able to be here and have those opportunities,” she said.
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The girls are no strangers to success. They were recognized as freshmen for a project that involved growing algae.
