Maize & Blue Cupboard
A mobile app that helps the University of Michigan community find free food and resources, and helps the pantry reach the students who need it most.
IMPACT AREA
Food Security
CLIENT
Maize & Blue Cupboard
YEAR
2024 - 2025
BUILT WITH
React Native + AWS
OVERVIEW
The Maize and Blue Cupboard is a grocery store at the University of Michigan that gives students, faculty, and staff free food and supplies to address food insecurity on campus. It is growing into a wider hub of resources, from help applying for SNAP benefits to healthy recipes and cooking demonstrations. Most people still discover the cupboard through word of mouth, and its updates are slow to publish because the website is managed off-site. Our team partnered with the cupboard to give it a direct, accessible way to reach the people who would benefit most.
The Maize and Blue Cupboard is a grocery store at the University of Michigan that gives students, faculty, and staff free food and supplies to address food insecurity on campus. It is growing into a wider hub of resources, from help applying for SNAP benefits to healthy recipes and cooking demonstrations. Most people still discover the cupboard through word of mouth, and its updates are slow to publish because the website is managed off-site. Our team partnered with the cupboard to give it a direct, accessible way to reach the people who would benefit most.
T4SG PROJECT TEAM
Project Manager · UX Designers
Software Developers
CHALLENGE
The cupboard's website is managed by University student life, so staff can only push updates about once a week, and someone else has to enter them. That makes it hard to share timely information like stock, closures, or events. Stigma is a barrier too: many students assume they are not "food insecure enough" to use campus services and stay away. So how might we increase engagement with and accessibility of the Maize and Blue Cupboard through a mobile app that staff can update themselves?
WHAT WE DID
We designed and built a mobile app that brings the cupboard's information and services into one place. Students can schedule appointments to shop, browse recipes, find resources like SNAP guidance, and read news and announcements. Staff can post updates and send notifications themselves, for things like weather closures or surplus food to give away. Accessibility was a core requirement, so the app was designed to meet digital accessibility standards and work for everyone on campus.
OUTCOME
A working prototype, now rebuilt on React Native and AWS, ready to grow with the cupboard.
Maize & Blue Cupboard
A mobile app that helps the University of Michigan community find free food and resources, and helps the pantry reach the students who need it most.
IMPACT AREA
Food Security
CLIENT
Maize & Blue Cupboard
YEAR
2024 - 2025
BUILT WITH
React Native + AWS
OVERVIEW
The Maize and Blue Cupboard is a grocery store at the University of Michigan that gives students, faculty, and staff free food and supplies to address food insecurity on campus. It is growing into a wider hub of resources, from help applying for SNAP benefits to healthy recipes and cooking demonstrations. Most people still discover the cupboard through word of mouth, and its updates are slow to publish because the website is managed off-site. Our team partnered with the cupboard to give it a direct, accessible way to reach the people who would benefit most.
T4SG PROJECT TEAM
Project Manager · UX Designers · Software Developers
CHALLENGE
The cupboard's website is managed by University student life, so staff can only push updates about once a week, and someone else has to enter them. That makes it hard to share timely information like stock, closures, or events. Stigma is a barrier too: many students assume they are not "food insecure enough" to use campus services and stay away. So how might we increase engagement with and accessibility of the Maize and Blue Cupboard through a mobile app that staff can update themselves?
WHAT WE DID
We designed and built a mobile app that brings the cupboard's information and services into one place. Students can schedule appointments to shop, browse recipes, find resources like SNAP guidance, and read news and announcements. Staff can post updates and send notifications themselves, for things like weather closures or surplus food to give away. Accessibility was a core requirement, so the app was designed to meet digital accessibility standards and work for everyone on campus.
OUTCOME
A working prototype, now rebuilt on React Native and AWS, ready to grow with the cupboard.