ecofoodly

Inspiration

The climate is changing, and the impacts are too costly for people and the planet. It is disheartening to know that the global food system is responsible for up to 30% of total global house gas emissions. AND that ⅓ of all food produced in the world is wasted. It’s time for action. I created this application to bring awareness to this issue and help create a sustainable way for people to positively change their environmental impact. There are many things people can change in their lives to help, however, they might be unaware of things they can do, so this application can be the small nudge they need in the right direction to help make the planet a better place!

What it does

Introducing ecofoodly, an environmental literacy app to promote positive food habits and help users with their journey to fight climate change. Users can make sustainable food choices that improve their wellbeing, and make a positive change to the world globally by accessing various features in the application. These features include:

Survey: covers topics like meat consumption, food literacy, and food waste. When users complete the survey, they are provided with educational information about helping the environment.

Food Research: users can scan a barcode and determine how environmentally friendly the food item is based on the following factors; product's origin, ingredients, and packaging. Users can also learn ways to upcycle or dispose the item. Using AR technology, users can also engage in an interactive activity where they can scan a QR code and see where to dispose of the food item.

My Fridge + Pantry: helps to reduce food waste by tracking all the items the user previously purchased. Once the user takes a picture of their fridge, the app is able to convert the data that it receives from the photo into text using computer vision technology. Users will then be provided with a list of foods in the fridge and they can keep track of expiry dates.

Nearest Food Shelter / Bank: Uses Google Maps API to find the nearest food shelter/bank and prevent food waste.

Recipes: Helps users to reduce meat consumption by providing alternative vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free recipes of their favourite foods that contain meat.

Calendar: Allows users to keep track of the days they plan to visit the grocery store or a restaurant. Users can then be reminded to bring reusable bags or cutlery.

Help + Resources: Users can learn different methods to reduce their carbon footprint, and can learn about eco-friendly brands.

Progress: Users can stay motivated by being provided with quantities of information about how they have contributed to helping the environment!

Random Acts of Green: Motivates users to partake in activities that help improve the environment. When a user completes a task, they can earn points. Users can earn even more points by completing engaging quizzes using AR. When the user scans a QR code, they are required to choose the correct bin that the food item goes in.

Profile: Allows the user to keep track of personal information. This section also contains a community leaderboard which creates competition and motivates the user to complete as many “green acts'' as they can. The more points the user accumulates, the higher their rank will be on the leaderboard. With the points, users can make in-app purchases, where they can redeem eco-friendly products or they can donate to various charities that promote environmental sustainability.

How I built it

I built this application using Figma + echoAR!

Challenges I ran into

This was my first time participating in a hackathon by myself and it was definitely a challenging experience for me! Managing my time was a huge obstacle since I did not have a team to divide my tasks with. I was required to manage my time in an efficient manner in order to complete all my goals within the 24 hour time frame. Nevertheless, this was an incredible opportunity for me to showcase my skills and grow as an individual!

Accomplishments that I am proud of

I am proud of all the features I was able to include in the day that I was given to complete this! I came up with a problem statement and marketing strategy, which involved a lot of research to ensure that this application was actually useful to people trying to reduce their food waste. I know this application will make a positive impact on the environment and I am proud that I was able to complete this! :)

What I learned

While doing research for this application, I learned a lot about the environmental impact food waste has which encouraged me to created this application. I hope that being able to educate others well help make this application successful :). I also learned more about figma and different features on figma that can help make your product design even better! I implemented many new techniques to enhance the user experience of my application.

What's next for ecofoodly

I hope to implement more AR technology throughout this app to make it more fun and interactive for users. I also hope to make this a functioning app for users, so that they can start their climate journey and help to make a positive impact!

Built With

• echoar
• figma