Food Waste Tracker

We are RKLM. We calculate the amount of surplus created by people and with that information, we suggest a new amount of food to buy and places people can donate their inevitable leftovers.

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Inspiration

Over the pandemic, food insecurity rates rose by a large amount. Food wastage is a global crisis. It is squandering our precious natural resources and contributes to global warming, all while billions of people go hungry. Right now, we have industry practices like reuse, donate, and recycle. We have noticed that we donate more food to teen centers and food banks, as more people need them. On the other hand, other people waste food everyday, including restaurants, grocery stores, and even households. We do these almost everyday! As a result, we were compelled to create a system that aids in the visual representation of foods wasted in order to decrease the amount of materials bought. The program also encourages users to explore donating to food banks.

What it does

Our machine calculates and produces graphs based on user food wastage information. We develop visual aids to see how much food they could actually end up giving to others instead of throwing it away.

How we built it

We used our experience in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Python in order to create the website. Furthermore, we used Flask and Mysql for user data and website functions.

Challenges we ran into

Some challenges we faced with this experience was mainly with using new software. We used the software Flask, and it took us quite a while to understand it, get it to work, and use python to connect with it. We also struggled with using json, but resolved that a different platform would prove more efficient.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Some of the accomplishments that we are proud of are the fact that we have incorporated the knowledge we currently possess about programming and developed that with connecting it to other platforms to bring out as much information to users as possible.

What we learned

We learned that we should not take what we have for granted and be able to use the resources that others as well as we retain to help those in need. We also developed skills in proper time management, and realized that no idea is a bad idea. Additionally, we learned the new software Flask, and learned more aspects and functions about the languages we already know

What's next for Food Waste Tracker

Our project currently just calculates and suggests methods of fixing food wastage, but we would like to make it more applicable to everyone. We would also like to contact restaurants, grocery stores, and individual home owners to use our software. Based on their usage, we would like to train the data with machine learning. We would also like to take pictures of food and classify, and make the website image more appealing. Lastly, we would like to promote the outreach to those who have leftovers to those who need food, and be able to possess and offer contact information to local food banks, teen centers, or any other organizations that can help feed more people.

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