Grub.io wins Rep. Janelle Bynum’s 2025 Congressional App Challenge in Oregon’s Fifth District.

When asked what inspired the creation of Grub.io, Anshu Mukherjee said, “Last spring, I had the opportunity to travel with my FIRST Robotics team, Team 1425, to the world competition in Houston. While I had a wonderful time, lunchtime was often very hectic. As there were over 600 teams in one convention center, all needing to eat, there was a rush by team mentors/coaches to order enough food for everyone. In the process, I noticed that some teams had to wait a long time for food, while others had a surplus that they were throwing away. I saw people throwing away whole pizzas, full cans of soda in the trash, and trays of extra food no one was touching. With the chaos of the event, there wasn’t much opportunity for people to share food.

‘This wasn’t the first time I’d noticed this problem. At tons of school events, I’d seen the same phenomenon. I even saw it at a University of Oregon tailgate! This problem is currently unsolved; current food rescue apps aren’t built for events, typically reliant on restaurants and/or volunteer networks. At the competition, surrounded by tons of engineering creativity, I saw a clear opportunity: I could create an app to address event food waste.

‘In Oregon, we waste 2 billion pounds of food annually. Moreover, 70% of this food is edible. While food waste at events is not well characterized, some estimates predict that 15-20% of food at large events is wasted. At the same time, 1 in 8 Oregonians, and 1 in 6 Oregonian children, experience food insecurity. Due to the current government shutdown, SNAP benefits are set to expire soon, which will only make the issue worse. I’m currently working on partnerships with local organizations like Urban Gleaners to understand what food waste they can utilize, and Waste Not Food Taxi, which already has volunteer infrastructure to transport excess food to hunger-relief organizations. Thus, grub.io can also help address the pressing issue of food insecurity.

‘Moving forward, I plan to use the app at the very same events where I first noticed these issues. My robotics team, 1425 (made up of students from Wilsonville and West Linn High School), typically hosts an event for 30+ teams (of around 20-30 members each) every winter, where I plan to beta test the app. Eventually, my goal is to deploy the app at the robotics World Championship next year.”