FridgeFresh

Inspiration

Keeping track of fridge and pantry inventory can be a challenge, especially for college students constantly on busy schedules and often live with roommates. The fridge quickly becomes cluttered, and groceries often go unnoticed until they expire and go to waste. We wanted to create a smart app that simplifies inventory management, helping users stay organized by tracking items. By streamlining food tracking, we aim to reduce food waste, save time, and make meal planning easier.

What it does

FridgeFresh is a smart inventory tracker that allows users to efficiently manage their groceries. Users can input new items with details like name, category, amount, expiration date, location, and notes. The app features grocery list creation, where users can add items and seamlessly transfer them to the inventory once purchased. It also provides expiration alerts to prevent food waste, analyzes discarded items to offer waste-reduction insights, and even suggests recipes based on ingredients already in the inventory, prioritizing those that will expire soon.

How we built it

We developed FridgeFresh using Swift to create a seamless and intuitive iOS experience. For recipe recommendations, we integrated the free TheMealDB API, utilizing its wide range of recipes that can be filtered based on available ingredients. By leveraging Swift’s powerful capabilities and the API’s extensive database, we built a system that efficiently organizes grocery tracking while enhancing the cooking experience.

Challenges we ran into

Our main challenges were handling API calls effectively and ensuring we retrieved the right information for our intended use. Ensuring seamless communication was a complex task, especially when merging the parts we developed separately. Additionally, structuring the data in a way that allowed the inventory to streamline simply required careful planning. There was a significant effort in designing a smooth user experience that integrates different functionalities—such as grocery list management, expiration analysis, and recipe recommendations.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are incredibly proud of building a functional UI that has the potential to become a meaningful app. Despite the technical challenges, we successfully created a system that helps users track their food efficiently, reducing waste and making meal planning easier. Our integration of expiration tracking or recipe suggestions adds significant value, making the app not just an organizer but also a tool for smarter grocery management.

What we learned

Throughout this project, we gained substantial experience in Swift development and working with APIs within iOS applications. We also learned how to structure a user-friendly app that balances multiple features while maintaining an intuitive and clean interface.

What's next for FridgeFresh

Looking ahead, we want to implement a backend system to make FridgeFresh a functional app that stores data. We also aim to enhance the app’s UI/UX design for a smoother and more visually appealing experience. Future updates discussed also include photo entry or barcode scanning for quicker item entry, optimized recipe suggestions based on all items in the inventory, and integration with smart home assistants to make food tracking even more convenient.

Built With

• restful-api
• swift
• swiftui