Easy Food

My app is a geolocation-based platform to address the food insecurity issue by finding an equilibrium between the food demand from the hungry people and the supply of excess food available / wasted.

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Inspiration

I was inspired to create this project after noticing the number of people undergoing hardships, more so in the time of the pandemic. World hunger is one of the largest global issues, and I was inspired to help contribute to a solution in my own small way.

What it does

My app works as a platform to bridge the food demand and supply gap. The food demand is from hungry and needy people. The supply side is from food sources like restaurants, bakeries, retailers, etc. with excess perishable food that would otherwise be wasted. My app helps the food sources partner with the app to help get their excess food put to good use. They provide information about the type and volume of food available. The app users search for food availability in their area, reserve a food package, and then pick it up so they can eat a nice meal. The app also provides directions to the selected restaurant.

How I built it

I used SwiftUI and XCode 12 to code this app. I also used MapKit to implement the map and provide the route from the user’s location to the restaurant.

Challenges I ran into

This was my first time using SwiftUI. I struggled to implement MapKit with SwiftUI as it is normally used with UIKit. I was also looking to integrate a QR code generated during the time of reservation but was not able to do so during this phase.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

I am proud that I was able to make an impactful app focused on helping those in need. I also feel good that I was able to make this app in a short amount of time, and look at the future optimistically where I may be able to create a market ready version.

What I learned

I learned how to look at a societal problem and created a digital solution to address it. From a business perspective, I have a model that can create a non-profit. From a technical perspective, I learned how to make an app with SwiftUI, alert notification, how to switch between views using NavigationView and NavigationLink, and the integration of MapKit with SwiftUI.

What's next for Easy Food

The next step for Easy Food is to conduct some market research to determine demand, refine the application further, and polish it to launch it on the App Store. After that, I could look at launching and testing a pilot in a selected area.

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