Chibudom Onyejesi Wins York College Hackathon with Food Assistance App
The first-time competitor, a Computer Science major originally from Nigeria, built an online program to make Women, Infants, and Children nutritional benefits easier for families to use.
In November, Chibudom “Ethan” Onyejesi ’27, a York College of Pennsylvania Computer Science major, arrived at the College’s Hacks competition without any expectation of winning. More than 100 students from over 15 colleges and universities had gathered to spend 36 hours developing app concepts presented by the event’s sponsors.
Ethan had never participated in a hackathon and was there mainly to earn extra credit. Arriving late because of his attendance at an International Students Association event, he wasn’t able to find a partner or a team to join.
On the verge of leaving before the hackathon had begun, Ethan decided to stay and compete alone when he learned about the Urban Collaborative-sponsored challenge to design an app to support the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, commonly known as WIC, an initiative of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“I thought it was different for the environment,” he says of the task.
A challenge rooted in community needs
Urban Collaborative works with nonprofits and helps its clients achieve environmental, fiscal, and social sustainability. UC Director Jessica Zartman introduced the Hacks challenge after a community member described to her the barriers many WIC recipients face when shopping, such as confusion over which foods qualify under the program and limitations caused by package size or brand.
Zartman wanted hackathon participants to understand what mothers face when they shop with children and try to manage their WIC benefits; many of those women are not able to read or understand English. She hoped students would choose a challenge that encouraged empathy and civic-minded design.
Her instinct proved right. Four groups selected the WIC challenge. After 36 hours of intense development, Ethan’s app, WICBuy, emerged as the winner. It earned three major awards and the attention of faculty, mentors, and community partners who saw the potential of his idea to make it easier for families to use WIC benefits.
“The core features of my app were being able to have a single app you can use for the entire shopping experience,” Ethan says.
The app allows users to view monthly WIC monetary balances. They can scan products and learn if an item is approved for purchase. If an item is not allowed, users receive visual suggestions for approved alternatives.
The app also prevents the selection of items that exceed an individual’s benefits. The shopper can browse a list of every item available for purchase with WIC, switch between languages, view additional government resources, and search a WIC-approved store locator.
A project with a future
While this was Ethan’s first hackathon, it wasn’t his first experience building apps. His biggest project to date is a free fitness app called Helthy. He also owns a web development business, OCE Labs.
The success of WICBuy opened Ethan’s eyes to a world of expansive possibilities in app development. The experience also helped him build self-confidence.
“I learned there’s a lot I can do for my community with tech skills,” he says.
Ethan is in conversation with Zartman about continuing the work, and other Hacks participants who designed WIC apps have also reached out to her about developing community-focused tech projects.
“It has been extremely heartening to talk to students who found it to be an intrinsically rewarding experience,” Zartman says. “I’m staying in contact with several of them as I identify additional community projects that would benefit from their brilliance and creativity.”
