EcoBite

EcoBite - From Spare to Share
Landing Page
Donate Page
Volunteering Page

Inspiration

Our inspiration for Ecobite came from the staggering amount of food waste we observed in our daily lives. Seeing perfectly good food go to waste while many people in our communities face food insecurity motivated us to find a solution. We wanted to create a platform that not only addresses food waste but also helps nourish those in need.

What it does

Ecobite is a platform that connects everyone with surplus food to charities and individuals in need. Users can easily list surplus food items on the app, and those in need can claim them directly. Additionally, Ecobite allows users to donate money to registered institutions, providing another way to support the cause. Ecobite also features a volunteer section where institutions can post volunteer opportunities and individual users can apply, fostering community engagement and support. Donors can track the progress of their donations, whether it's food or money, ensuring transparency and trust.

How we built it

The Ecobite team consists of 4 people: 1 PM, 1 UI/UX designer, 1 Front-end developer, and 1 Back-end developer. The application design began with user research and scoping, followed by wireframing, and concluded with prototyping using Figma. For the development, we used Next.js as the front-end framework, NestJS and Prisma as the back-end framework, and PostgreSQL as the database.

Challenges we ran into

The challenges we faced while creating Ecobite included finding a balance between the solutions we wanted to provide for addressing the issues and aligning them with the time and capabilities of the developers. Creating an intuitive and user-friendly interface for both donors and recipients and developing an effective volunteer management feature also required thorough planning and testing.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are incredibly proud of several accomplishments with Ecobite. First and foremost, we successfully created a platform that addresses a significant social issue—food waste and food insecurity. Additionally, the platform was built with a 95% similarity to what was planned or created during the prototyping phase.

What we learned

Throughout this journey, we learned the importance of community and collaboration. Tackling food waste is not something we can do alone; it requires the collective effort of businesses, individuals, and organizations. We also gained valuable insights into the technical aspects of building a scalable and user-friendly app, as well as the complexities involved in food safety, distribution, secure monetary donations, and volunteer management.

What's next for EcoBite

The next steps for Ecobite involve expanding our reach and impact. We plan to roll out new features that will make it even easier for users to donate and claim food. Additionally, we aim to establish partnerships with more businesses and organizations to increase the volume of surplus food being redistributed. We also have plans to launch educational campaigns to raise awareness about food waste and how everyone can contribute to solving this issue.