A group of Elizabethtown College students enrolled in Information Systems Lecturer Nancy Reddig’s Computer Science (CS) 341 Software Engineering class are working on an innovative service project to create an upgraded inventory system for the College’s on-campus food pantry, the Blue Jay Pantry.
In fall 2022, a group of students enrolled in Reddig’s course met with Elizabethtown College’s Director of the Center for Community and Civic Engagement (CCCE) Javita Thompson to learn about the data needs for the Blue Jay Pantry. Students then used their coding skills to develop a database for food inventory that the Pantry could utilize.
“This is a great example of students in Computer Science working closely with faculty to use the specialized technical skills they are developing in their coursework to improve the lives of others,” Dean of the School of Engineering and Computer Science Sara Atwood said. “The project is preparing students for post-graduation production-level, team-based software development while positively impacting a real-world client with authentic needs.”
The College was recently designated as a Hunger-Free Campus by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, in part because of its work to provide students in need with an accessible food pantry.
Students Alex Fox ’24 and Matthew Sutton ’24 carried the project into the spring 2023 semester’s CS 409, Advanced Database Systems course, cleaning code to make the software more efficient.
“It’s a very cool feeling to create something that will eventually be implemented into the College’s system,” Fox said. “It is a privilege to see our work help the campus community.”
This past summer, Reddig worked to create a more mobile-friendly design. The original project is now being reworked by Reddig’s students to create a usable website for all food pantries.
Current students in Reddig’s class are working to create customizable features within the website, and include standard features like inventory, contacts, and logins. They’re also sorting out bugs with handheld scanners, to be used when logging products. The goal is to create a scannable system for students to check out items, instead of manually logging items on paper or an online form.
Students hope to have the system in place at the Blue Jay Pantry before the end of the fall 2023 semester. Currently, the pantry utilizes a spreadsheet, but Thompson said it’s difficult to gauge what the most popular items are. This project will help CCCE gather donations that are most useful to students.
“We are presented with so many opportunities to connect service across departments and disciplines at Etown,” Thompson said. “I’m so pleased the School of Engineering and Computer Science has partnered with CCCE to promote community-based learning opportunities and community engagement with nonprofit organizations.”
A sample food pantry is set up in the Computer Science Lounge, located in Esbenshade Hall, so students can test their project from a hands-on approach.
“To get students to truly understand, you need to immerse them in the process,” Reddig said. “I am so proud of our 2022 class for completing a system to help people on the campus and I’m excited that the 2023 class is continuing to take this next system for the food pantry.”
