Inspiration
Being at college, it isn't often that you meet people who are struggling for food. There's always free food around, and most people are able to obtain the most basic human need -- food. However, this isn't the case in inner city areas and poor suburbs. We recently came across research by The New York Times that said that a whopping 70% of those without a home now have access to a smartphone. We saw a clear path to help those who are hungry.
It is well known that many households, restaurants and grocery stores throw out large amounts of food. Research shows that almost 30% of the food that is produced in the United States goes to waste. Hey, I'm Hungry is a platform that is looking to connect all levels of society through food.
What it does
At its heart, Hey, I'm Hungry helps those with excess food to efficiently donate it to those who are less fortunate. We make it easy and rewarding to help the community. There are three ways to interface with the platform:
Mobile App A mobile phone app built in React Native allows us to reach out to the widest group of people. Users can scroll through food listings available near them (on a map, as well as in list form) and others can easily put up a listing for someone to come and take excess food from them. A machine learning algorithm analyzes photos of the food and estimates how long before the food is spoiled, and thus, inedible. This allows us to greatly focus offerings based on location, as well as on food quality.
Smart Speaker Donating food is as simple as saying "Hey, I'm hungry, I have some leftovers." The Google Home integration allows effortless donations onto the platform. By just talking to your speaker and leaving some food outside when it alerts you, you could make someone's day.
DropZone The DropZone is a special donation box that we have designed. It integrates with the Hey, I'm Hungry platform and makes it simple for soup kitchens, churches and charity groups to operate around the clock. Often, people don't donate their food since the donation locations are closed when it's convenient for them to go. The DropZone makes this problem irrelevant. As food is deposited into the DropZone, a camera on the inside automatically classifies the food using a machine learning algorithm. The food is then posted on the platform automatically for people to find.
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