ZeroWaste wins Rep. Randy Feenstra’s 2025 Congressional App Challenge in Iowa’s Fourth District
Rep. Randy Feenstra has named Anneka Singh of Ames High School as the winner of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge in Iowa’s Fourth District. Their app ZeroWaste offers a multifunctional platform that streamlines the donation process by utilizing a machine learning logistic regression model to classify food as either perishable or non-perishable.
When asked what inspired the creation of ZeroWaste, Anneka Singh said, “As a three-year volunteer at a local food kitchen, I witnessed the importance of donations in feeding and providing goods to members of my local community. I specifically recall a moment when I was serving food on a Friday evening in January and being met with smiles at the prospect of having a hearty dinner in the cold, bleak weather. Many food banks and food kitchens rely on donations to sustain their work. I was motivated to learn more about the impacts of hunger and food waste that currently exist. I was stunned to learn that 30-40% of food purchased in households is thrown away, and 120 to 160 billion pounds of produce is wasted each year. I identified a significant gap in the amount of food waste compared to the number of people facing hunger, highlighting a clear disconnect, which led me to my 4-month journey to develop ZeroWaste. ZeroWaste bridges this gap and streamlines the donation process, making it accessible and user-friendly for users to initiate their donation journey and connect individuals with resources that empower them.”
The 2025 Congressional App Challenge marked another record-setting year for the program. A total of 394 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives hosted App Challenges in their congressional districts, the highest level of participation in the program’s history. More than 13,800 students from across the country participated, submitting over 4,600 original apps focused on real-world challenges ranging from health and accessibility to education, sustainability, and civic engagement.
The Congressional App Challenge is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives that encourages middle school and high school students to learn to code, explore computer science, and build practical technology solutions for their communities. Each participating Member of Congress selects a winning app from their district, and winning teams are invited to showcase their projects to Members of Congress, staff, and industry leaders at the annual #HouseOfCode celebration on Capitol Hill.
The Challenge is proudly bipartisan and reflects a shared commitment to expanding access to STEM education and preparing the next generation of American innovators for the future workforce. The program is a public-private partnership made possible through funding from the Broadcom Foundation, AWS, Infosys Foundation USA, theCoderSchool, Apple, and others.
The 2026 Congressional App Challenge will launch in May, and eligible students can pre-register for the competition now.