Buckeye founders turn volunteer work into food security startup

When Jack Swartley came to The Ohio State University as a first-year finance major, he did not plan to be an entrepreneur. But one year later, the rising sophomore and his co-founder, Sky Sie, have launched a nonprofit venture, created a mobile platform to connect food pantries with volunteers and families, and secured $50,000 through the President’s Buckeye Accelerator.

“Absolutely not—it was not even on my radar,” Swartley said of his initial interest in entrepreneurship. “But I joined the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Scholars Program, and that really fostered the idea. I started trying programs, meeting people, and gradually it just clicked that this is what I want to do.”

Swartley and Sie participated in every Keenan Center for Entrepreneurship program in their first year, including Launchpad OSU, Best of Student Startups and finally the accelerator. Each program, he said, helped him refine his ideas and build the confidence to pursue them.

“The accelerator program was absolutely incredible,” he said. “Boost Camp really helped me refine my business model and my pitch. My business model changed five separate times because of the conversations I was having. I was able to secure more than 10 letters of support and a few letters of intent from food pantries and food assistance organizations. That experience really taught me how to be an entrepreneur and how to raise funds.”

Swartley credited Keenan Center mentors with guiding him through the process. His mentors include Adithya Ramaswami and Nathan Minns, and he also worked closely with Neil Collins, who was crucial in connecting him with potential partners and is a current board member.

“By the finale, I had a business model canvas, a great presentation, and a story that moved people,” Swartley said. “And I could not have done it without my mentors, or my co-founder, Sky Sie, who’s been with me every step of the way.”

The venture stems from years of volunteer work. Swartley grew up in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, where he and his mother volunteered at the Bucks County Housing Group’s food pantry for more than seven years.

“Even in a place like Doylestown, which is very well off, there were still people who were food insecure,” he said. “People have this stereotype that it’s only homeless people or people without jobs, but really, it’s everyday people—your neighbors, your coworkers—who are struggling. That opened my eyes, and I knew I wanted to help.”

His solution is a mobile app and web platform with two parts: families register through their local food pantry and order food based on the pantry’s schedule, and volunteers sign up through the app to make deliveries when it works for them. Food pantries use a web-based dashboard to manage everything.

“This creates a new way to get volunteers involved and execute in a more efficient way that can make a greater impact,” Swartley said.

With the accelerator funding, Swartley and his team plan to launch a pilot in 2026 with two to three Columbus-area food pantries. The goal is to test the platform, refine it and eventually expand.

“We want to start here in Columbus, then move into Cincinnati and Cleveland,” Swartley said. “Eventually, we want to expand nationwide. But right now, it’s about building something people love and that truly makes a difference.”

From a student who once had no plans to start a business to a founder building a platform to fight food insecurity, Swartley and Sie represent the entrepreneurial drive at the heart of Ohio State.

For more information and to explore the platform, visit mobilepantry.org or follow @mobilepantryofficial.