Aliment

Home Screen

Inspiration

We wondered what happened to the food that remained untouched by restaurants. After doing some additional research, we realized that the 133 billion pounds of food wasted could go to shelters instead. Because of this, we were inspired to create a mobile application and website to help reduce this waste and hunger in our local community.

What it does

The app gives the option for a restaurant or shelter to sign in. Restaurants then are presented with a map of local shelters and clicking on the pinpoint leads to a page to input the name of the food and servings they would like to donate. Furthermore, restaurants are encouraged to donate with a rewards program that Shelters are presented with a map of local restaurants and can request food and servings as well as the pick up time. The website promotes the app with additional mission statements and a direct form to donate money for the program.

How we built it

The app was built using Xcode and swift. The website uses HTML/CSS and JavaScript, with an integrated form using JotForms.

Challenges we ran into

All of us did not have experience in App Development prior to this Hackathon and decided to try something new for this project. Additionally, deciding upon an App developer and constructing the user interface in order to make the app interactive and accessible was a challenge.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of using XCode for the first time and being able to create such a large storyboard. In addition, we were able to create a website which parallels the content of the app. Being able to help the community while pursuing our passion is something we feel extremely accomplished about.

What we learned

We learned how to use XCode to create a basic app and how to design a storyboard with intuitive user instructions. Additionally, we learned that app development is an extremely tedious, yet rewarding process, that allows us to connect several goals into a single database.

What's next for Aliment

We wish to optimize the pick-up request times with the pick-up convenience times in order to find a time available for both shelters and restaurants. Additionally, we hope that through Aliment we will be able to allow restaurants and shelters to receive notifications of wanted food waste that restaurants should watch for, or food that may be coming in for the shelter. The rewards system should be made more efficient and convenient such that users will be able to easily redeem codes and use rewards for the purpose they wish to.