Inspiration

My team and I kept seeing perfectly edible food go to waste while local shelters and community centers struggled to meet basic needs. We were inspired to build a platform that bridges this gap

What it does

Dasher connects food donors (like restaurants and grocery stores) with nearby nonprofit organizations. Charities can log in, view a map of available donations, claim items, and coordinate pickups — all through a sleek dashboard interface.

How we built it

We used React + TypeScript for the frontend, styled with Tailwind CSS and ShadCN UI for clean, accessible components. Data is dynamically loaded and mapped using leaflet.js, and interactions are managed through a secure claim flow. The UI is designed to be mobile-responsive and intuitive for busy nonprofit users.

Challenges we ran into

Integrating and customizing the map view to support accurate location pins and real-time updates Handling state management and component communication between the map and dashboard

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Built a fully functional food-sharing dashboard with a live map and claim system in under 48 hours Designed a smooth, responsive UI that feels both modern and highly usable. We created a system that could actually reduce waste and improve access to food if deployed in real life

What we learned

The importance of user experience in high-impact apps — especially when serving nonprofits. We also learned ow to effectively collaborate across design, frontend, and logic layers under tight deadlines