UNM student launching app to help students facing food insecurity

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – While it’s common for college students to worry about money, a study shows a lot of University of New Mexico undergrads also worry about where their next meal will come from. A new app is helping them and cutting down on food waste on campus.

A UNM study found nearly 7,000 undergrads at the school cope with food insecurity. But UNM senior Biraj Silwal knows from personal experience there is also a lot of food on campus that simply gets tossed in the trash. “I have been to many events on campus and I have personally seen that there is always food, like extra food,” said Silwal.

Hoping to solve two problems at once, Silwal, who is studying computer science and economics, volunteered his time and spent much of his winter break in a coding marathon, designing the Lobo Eats app. “For students, they don’t have to sign up, log in, anything. They just have to go to the food tab and see available food,” Silwal said.

The free app lets anyone with a UNM email address post about extra food they have following events or meetings that students in need can come pick up. “They will get a real-time notification about when, where, and what kind of food is available on campus,” Silwal said.

When there is no extra food available, there are also links to more resources like on the on-campus food pantry. The app is a couple of months away from launching but when it does, Silwal hopes it lets students struggling with food insecurity know they are not alone.

“Let’s say because of that app, if many students go to the events for the food and there is food availability, they see they’re not the only one who needs food when they are on campus,” Silwal said. “Our goal is to remove that stigma and embarrassment and make it more like a norm.”

The app should be officially up and running by the end of this semester. Then, Silwal will release his code to other colleges so they can make their own versions of the app.