Our team was in college when we started this journey in early 2023. Like 40% of the students in the California State University system, and a large percentage of students around the country, we were regular patrons of the on-campus Food Pantry. Despite the indispensable role it played in our lives at the time, the flaws of the arrangement felt glaring. The inaugural Engineering Social Justice competition gave us the perfect opportunity to explore the root of the problems we were experiencing - the difficult scheduling, inventory mismatch, the ineffectual communication. The research and interviews that ensued led to brainstorming sessions. Through this process is where Bag/Get was born.

We went on to win 1st place at the ESJ competition, followed by a podium finish at the CSU-wide Startup Competition in San Jose. Bag/Get was then invited to receive residency at the CSUF Business School's Startup Incubator. We began a formal market research phase consisting of hundreds of interviews with food pantries and food banks as far north as Humboldt County, all the way down to San Diego. The team continued to receive validation with wins at competitions such as Titan Fast Pitch and SoCal Entrepreneurship.

This market research culminated in the start of development for us - the Bag/Get platform for staff, volunteers, and neighbors (pantry clients). During this time we were also being supported by an emerging partnership with the LA-based Pando Populus group during this period. We continued to strengthen relationships across California by attending our first Food Bank Convention in Sacramento, sponsored by the NSF's I-Corp program.

Shortly after that, the team was invited to apply to the Larta Institute's Accelerator, the Venture Fellows program - a natural progression for us having just graduated from the business school's start up incubator. From hundreds of applicants, our startup was chosen to join the 9 other LA & Miami-based companies that made up the 2024 cohort. We continued to refine our MVP, whilst being to introduced to impact-oriented VC firms - this was valuable insight towards planning our pilot run and establishing our KPI's.

We successfully completed residency at Larta Institute, and today are soon to deploy our pilot at 3 different pantries in Orange County and the Inland Empire. As we move along, Bag/Get will continue to grow and listen closely to what our community has to say. Please join us, on our journey to modernize the food equity landscape and help our neighbors!