FairShare wins Rep. Tim Burchett’s 2025 Congressional App Challenge in Tennessee’s Second District
Rep. Tim Burchett has named Ananya Madduri of Maryville High School as the winner of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge in Tennessee’s Second District. Their app FairShare is a digital platform designed to streamline food bank operations and make food distribution more organized and fair.
When asked what inspired the creation of FairShare, Ananya Madduri said, “Every Thursday and Saturday, I volunteer at Community Food Connection, a local food bank that means a lot to me. My favorite part is greeting people in line and helping them pick out food, but I’ve also noticed a recurring issue: long lines, empty shelves, and food that sometimes goes unused simply because it wasn’t tracked or displayed in time. I realized that technology could make this process more efficient, fair, and organized. That’s what inspired me to create FairShare—an app that uses real-time data and simple digital tools to help food banks match donations to community needs, reduce waste, and make access more equitable.”
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.