Inspiration
According to www.foodlinkfoundation.org (http://www.foodlinkfoundation.org/fast-facts/food-waste-facts.html):
- 1 in 5 children in Hong Kong live in poverty
- 3,600 tons of food waste are disposed of at landfills each day
To minimize waste and to relieve poverty, we want to provide a grassroots solution that are autonomous and cost effective.
What it does
While HK has established charities working as middlemen, there is a lack of low cost solution that matches donors with beneficiaries directly.
We provide a just-in-time solution for potential food donors (in particular small restaurants) to flag their overproduction, and enable people in need to apply for free meals from their outlets. Build in mechanism will also ensure that applicants are prioritised in terms of needs verified (e.g., by Government Agencies) to avoid abuse (e.g., each user can only claim two meals per day)
A couple of ideas will be added and evaluated along the way, but that's basically the framework. A two sided marked approach to this nonprofit business suggests that a model is deployed over the data that would be able to predict basic needs in certain areas, and may highlight potential shortages to interested parties.
How we built it
Python-enabled backend Web interface SQL Database
Challenges we ran into
Predictions without actual data are impossible, hence we need to entice users to actually join. The incentive for restaurants should be, in cooperation with Government Agencies, to claim seals such as "Caring Company" for their charitable work.
Also, we did not want to be in the way of Food Angel and similar initiatives, so we need to ensure that that's not a method of competition. Hence, for now, we do focus on smaller restaurants and their leftover food / ingredients.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Filling a gap in existing spectrum of food assistance to the poor.
What we learned
Users want to take proactive actions instead of awaiting for help.
What's next for Feed.HK
Demand and supply for leftover food will be mapped down to street level detail. With big data analytics, this can facilitate Government and other charitable agencies to proactively plan their food assistance effort.
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