A software engineer hungry to help puts his skills to work on a app to feed homeless people

Last year, when I heard that JunkFood needed help, I immediately signed up — but not because of the name. JunkFood is actually a Copenhagen nonprofit that prepares daily healthy, hot meals for people living on the streets. About 40% of the ingredients that go into the meals come from surplus food donated by a number of producers and grocers that partner with the nonprofit.

JunkFood wanted an app to engage directly with the people it serves, providing details about the meal being offered each day while also allowing users to communicate with the organization’s chefs about their individual needs and tastes. After all, people who live on the streets still have dietary restrictions and food preferences, not to mention special occasions to celebrate. Doesn’t everyone deserve cake on their birthday? JunkFood wanted an app that would allow its clients to request these simple pleasures. 

As a senior software engineer at Mastercard, I specialize in this type of work. And I had been volunteering  with JunkFood, helping them with other computer applications, for about four years, so I knew the project would be fun. Plus, helping people in my community brings me joy.   Yet I had no idea just how rewarding the experience would be. 

Mastercard Payment Services collaborates locally with the IT University of Copenhagen. My project became Mastercard’s contribution to the bachelor students’ second-year project. It would make a great learning opportunity for the students, giving them a chance to practice their skills in a real-world environment. Seven programming students signed on for the project, and I would serve as their Scrum product owner.

This posed a personal challenge for me: I consider myself an introvert and am used to working on my own. Now I would have to push myself to be more outgoing when working with the students. 

Nevertheless, the students and I immediately got to work. We broke the project into six two-week segments, or “sprints.” I gave them the programming language to use and a prioritized list of what I hoped they could accomplish during each sprint. One of their first assignments was to speak to JunkFood’s administrative leaders and chefs. They also talked to some of the people JunkFood serves, the majority of whom own mobile phones. It was important for students to learn about the needs of everyone who would be using this app, in all its facets.

I provided guidance in my role as product owner, and the students built the app. I’d tell them we needed a button here, or we needed it to perform a particular function, but then I’d step aside and let them figure out solutions on their own, as a team. That’s how things work in real professional settings. And they were more than up to the challenge. 

I was so happy with the students and their work — and I was surprised by how determined and serious they were. It’s too early in their education to start working at Mastercard, but once they graduate, I can imagine them as future colleagues. The experience gave me faith in upcoming generation of programmers. And I learned a lot about managing people, too. Even on our small team, there were different personality types, and I saw that each had their own style of working and communicating. The students even won second prize of the Nordea Quality award among 14 participating projects with other companies.

Earlier this year, Mastercard recognized my work with a CEO Force for Good award, the company’s highest award for volunteerism. The awards are a big deal at Mastercard, and the entire company celebrates its winners. I have sometimes found the attention challenging but the recognition comes with a $1,000 cash award for Junkfood. Reluctantly, I allowed myself to accept being at the center of it all. 

I’m excited for the app’s official launch, which will hopefully happen soon, and I’ll continue to work with JunkFood next year. We have a lot of ideas, with a ton of things on the to-do list, and it’s important work. Not everyone in the city knows about JunkFood, but the people who need food know and they’re really happy about it.