Hack Away Hunger: Food Insecurity Challenge

Food insecurity is about more than empty shelves. Transportation barriers, housing instability, underemployment, rising food costs, and access to services can prevent someone from accessing basic needs. Real progress requires the entire community—nonprofits, businesses, technologists, volunteers, and neighbors—working together to make meaningful strides towards a hunger-free Iowa.

Hack Away Hunger is a 30-day innovation challenge designed to give teams time to build sustainable solutions rather than just weekend prototypes. The experience includes:

• Kickoff Event (Sept 10th): Meet community leaders, hear firsthand stories about food insecurity, and explore the problem space.
• Two Weeks of Ideation: Form teams, research challenges, and begin designing your solution. Project proposals are due Sept 17th at midnight.
• 48-Hour Accelerator Hackathon (Sept 24th–26th): Bring ideas to life during an in-person charity hackathon. Snacks, meals, and beverages will be provided.
• Final Two Weeks: Polish your project, complete stretch goals, and prepare your presentation.
• Final Showcase (Oct 10th): Present your solution to a panel of judges, compete for cash prizes, and celebrate the innovation created by the community.
• Post Hack Support: Opportunities to volunteer with nonprofits met during the event.

Requirements & Themes The hackathon focuses on creating practical, technology-driven solutions that help address food insecurity. Projects should tackle challenges identified during the kickoff or through research, such as:

• Improving access to healthy food
• Reducing food waste through food rescue and redistribution
• Streamlining nonprofit operations and volunteer management
• Connecting individuals with food assistance resources
• Improving data collection, reporting, and collaboration between organizations
• Increasing community awareness and engagement
• Supporting policy, advocacy, or research efforts through technology

Submissions may include web applications, mobile apps, AI-powered tools, data dashboards, APIs, automation solutions, hardware prototypes, or other innovative technology.

Prizes Competitors can win the Grand Prize, Community Impact Award, and People's Choice Award.

Judging Criteria Projects are evaluated based on: - Community Impact (30%): Effectiveness in addressing food insecurity and creating measurable benefits. - Innovation (20%): Originality and creativity of the approach. - Technical Execution (20%): Functionality, code quality, and effective use of tools. - Feasibility & Sustainability (15%): Practicality, scalability, and long-term potential. - User Experience & Design (10%): Usability and accessibility. - Presentation (5%): Quality of the demo and explanation.