Built around your household.
Food preferences, allergies, budget, and available cooking equipment help shape the plan.
A STUDENT-LED PROJECT
Good food.
Further.
Created by Food Synergy, a student-led nonprofit.
Meal planning that starts with what you have.
EVERY INGREDIENT HAS POSSIBILITIES.MEET MEALSTRETCH
Your food.
Your life.
A plan that fits.
A food basket is a beginning.
MealStretch brings pantry food, meal ideas, and grocery planning together—so households can make more of what’s available.
THE HOUSEHOLD APPFrom “what’s here?”
From “what’s here?”
to “what’s for dinner?”
One connected place to explore your basket, discover meals, and plan the rest of your shopping.
Request a walkthrough
Illustrative product viewTHIS WEEK
Good things in your basket.
Fresh produceVegetables & fruit
Pantry staplesGrains & everyday basics
ProteinBeans, legumes & more
Made around your preferences and kitchen.
A week at a time.
A monthly pantry basket is organized into weekly pickups, with information to help you prepare.
Room for real life.
Explore item swaps, keep a shopping checklist, and coordinate with the people who help you.
Product views use illustrative content. MealStretch is in community onboarding; household access is coordinated through participating pantries.
WHY WE’RE HERE
Food is personal.
The plan
should be, too.
Our mission is to help food-insecure households turn available ingredients and food-assistance resources into practical, affordable meals.
Start with what’s available.
Connect the food a household receives with ingredients already on hand and the groceries needed to fill the gaps.
Respect the household.
A useful plan considers preferences, cooking equipment, and budget. Everyday constraints belong at the center of the experience.
Learn with the community.
Build alongside households and pantry partners, listen to feedback, and evaluate where the program helps and where it needs to improve.
WHO WE ARE
Student led.
A shared purpose.
We’re Food Synergy, a student-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in San Diego. MealStretch is our founding student-led project.
Student leadership and community collaboration guide our work. We bring together food provisioning experience and product development to make food assistance more useful in everyday life.
Asher Duben
Founder & Executive Director
Organizational strategy, community partnerships, and program development.
Peter Nagel
Co-Founder · Technology & Product
Product development and technology strategy, informed by experience in food provisioning and logistics.
Penelope Nagel
Operations & Community Engagement
Supporting nonprofit operations and the community relationships behind the program.
WHERE WE ARE TODAY
Built. Learning.
Moving forward together.
Our app is built, and community onboarding is underway with our first partner, Congregation Beth El.
We are funded in part by the San Marcos Community Foundation. Our next priorities are household feedback, partner onboarding, and program evaluation.
Program status · September 2026TAKE A CLOSER LOOK
Good questions.
Better possibilities.
Here to understand the organization, evaluate the product, or work with us? Start with what matters to you.
RESEARCH & EDUCATION
Help ask the next good question.
MealStretch is a student-led project connecting meal planning with community food assistance. We welcome faculty and student collaborators to study how it fits into everyday household life.
Discuss a research projectLet’s explore
- Community needs assessments and usability studies
- Culturally responsive recipe and content reviews
- Program evaluation and nutrition education
Projects, supervision, data access, and any academic requirements are agreed with each institution before work begins.
A FEW USEFUL DETAILS
LET’S MAKE MORE POSSIBLE
A better plan
starts with a conversation.
For households. For food banks. For everyone
who believes good food should go further.