Erase the Waste wins Rep. Greg Landsman’s 2025 Congressional App Challenge in Ohio’s First District
Rep. Greg Landsman has named Jack Stechschulte and Gaven Gunnerson of Sycamore High School as the winners of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge in Ohio’s First District. Their app Erase the Waste is designed to make it easier for restaurants to transport surplus food that would otherwise be wasted to local food pantries in need.
When asked what inspired the creation of Erase the Waste, the students said, “We knew there were huge amounts of wasted food in restaurants, and we wanted to see if we could help both of these issues, giving food that would be wasted to people in need.”
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.