August 7, 2026 ASME Design Team Gives Back to Local Food Pantry Written By: Kassi Akers Departments: Mechanical Engineering Categories: Community | Students | Undergraduate When The River Food Pantry relocated to a new facility in spring 2026, one important piece was missing: a donation shed. As Dane County’s busiest food pantry, the organization serves over 4,000 people every week and relies heavily on donations to support its mission. Looking for an opportunity to apply their engineering skills to a real-world challenge, UW-Madison’s ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) design team stepped up to help! After meeting with the pantry to determine their specific needs, the design team, made up of 8 mechanical engineering students and led by senior, Braxton Roeder, started brainstorming. Considering things like pests and weather, the group developed 3 designs using CAD – each with their own bill of materials and costs – to present to the client. As you can see in the pictures, the final design has 2 drop-boxes – one for food, the other for clothing – that lead to laundry baskets. The bottom doors have secure locks to prevent theft but still allow pantry staff to collect donations. The initial cost was projected to be around $2,000, but the team was able to reduce costs by half. The donation shed at various stages of the process. ME Senior, Braxton Roeder Not only did this project present opportunities to apply engineering skills, but students gained valuable soft skills, as well. Through teamwork, budget development, idea presentation, and client collaboration, they developed communication, leadership and problem-solving abilities that are essential for their future careers. Roeder explained, “A valuable skill I learned is communicating with clients. It takes a lot of time actually planning out a project and communicating, rather than just building.” The plaque on the donation shed thanking the students. As of July, the donation box is officially in place and accepting donations. Due to conflicting schedules and the demands of final exams, the project was constructed and finalized this summer by Roeder. Even with challenges of warped and twisted wood, Roeder reported it was an awesome experience to give back to the community and be a part of something bigger than himself. Thank you to The River Food Pantry for providing our students with this opportunity. Community collaborations, like these, are a valued experience for students to build their skills in addition to what they’re learning in the classroom. Shout out to Braxton Roeder for providing photos, project details, and quotes!