May 13—University of Kentucky students now have access to nutrition information from UK Dining Services, thanks to the work of students from UK’s College of Agriculture and the Department of Computer Science in the College of Engineering.
Mallory Foster, a graduate student in the College of Agriculture’s Department of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, and computer science students Keith Moyer of Vienna, Va., Rakesh Patel from India, Matt Seabold from Louisville, and Randy Luecke of Marshall County have developed UK Food, a free nutrition app for menu items offered at UK’s major on-campus eateries: Ovid’s Cafe, Commons and Blazer.
Foster, from Teays Valley, W. Va., developed her idea during an undergraduate shadowing experience with Monica Fowler, a registered dietician who works with UK athletes. One of Foster’s tasks involved gathering nutrition information from campus dining and making it available to the athletes. Foster and Fowler began to wonder if they could do that for every student on campus.