Inspiration
When COVID-19 struck NYC, the Bowery Mission, an organization that fights hunger with volunteer-run food pantries, closed off sign-ups to people below the age of 18. I thought finding a new location to volunteer should be easy. With nearly a thousand food pantries scattered across New York City, I thought I would be able to find plenty of food pantries nearby. But, after hours of looking, there were no good options. After falling down rabbit holes of clunky websites and outdated databases, I thought that, surely, there must be a better way. Maybe, I could make a better way.
What it does
PantryMap locates nearby food pantries and provides contact information, volunteering instructions, and directions. PantryMap is free on the App Store and requires no sign-up. Within seconds, you can download the app, open it up, and find dozens of food pantries directly next door that you never knew existed. It works anywhere across the world but has the best, most detailed information only in New York City.
How we built it
I built PantryMap independently using Swift & SwiftUI in Xcode. PantryMap uses Google Map's API to locate the pantries, and then accesses a custom database I built with more detailed information about food pantries in NYC. I created that database by scraping online data, researching local pantries, and most of all: I reached out directly to hundreds of pantries in NYC and requested volunteering instructions to display on my app.
Challenges we ran into
As PantryMap is the first app I've ever made, I hit plenty of road bumps along the way. Understanding how to use Google Map's API, making requests and receiving data, was a massive challenge. And an even greater challenge was to display the results on an actual, usable map. As a complete novice to app design as well, creating a practical & visually pleasing platform took so much trial and error. But most of all, there doesn't exist a good source for information about food pantries in NYC. Even just finding the email addresses of pantries so I could email them for more data was a challenge.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
I taught myself Swift and SwiftUI entirely independently, just using free resources online. In a few months, I was able to create a tangible, fully-functioning app that can actually help people, and upload it onto the App Store.
What we learned
I learned so much about the process of app development, from a fledgling idea to designing the final touches of the app. In particular, I learned the power of APIs and how to parse their responses. I learned how to create a database and host it online. I applied the Swift language to manipulate the data from Google Map's API and my own database, and SwiftUI to display the data in a visually-pleasing way.
What's next for PantryMap
My next steps are to 1) Expand the PantryMap database to include detailed information about more pantries in NYC 2) Increase app functionality: Add a feature to crowd-source information from users, and increase the number of pantries displayed. 3) Create a version of PantryMap that is compatible with Android.
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