The team is developing a mobile app named NuLeaf that facilitates healthier eating. A team of Stanford Biodesign students is developing an app that aims to help low-income Californians improve…

The team is developing a mobile app named NuLeaf that facilitates healthier eating.

A team of Stanford Biodesign students is developing an app that aims to help low-income Californians improve their diet.

Specifically, the students decided to tackle the health problems experienced by users of CalFresh, the program that provides food purchasing assistance to more than 4 million low-income Californians. 

Research has found that while CalFresh helps recipients get enough food to eat, because of barriers that include cost and preparation time, most of that food is pre-packaged and low in nutrition. As a result, CalFresh recipients have elevated blood sugar levels as compared to the regular population, and the majority are overweight or obese. The result is a high rate of diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease.

To address these issues, the team is developing a mobile app named NuLeaf that facilitates healthier eating by providing culturally sensitive recipe recommendations tailored to user preferences, guidelines for the dietary management of health conditions, and localized, up-to-date grocery price and availability data.