Plateful

The first page a user would see when launching the app.
The first page a user would see after logging in. The information would update throughout their day and celebrate when goal is reached.
After clicking the barcode button on the previous screen, this is where a user could scan for a swipe.
What the Nutritionist would see when viewing a student's history.
A resturant page where users could get more information about all offerings on campus
Nutritional information about Chick-fil-A.
An easy to use interface that allows students to set appointments with a Nutritionist.
A weekly report that shows a user how they are doing on their goals.
Nutritional information about Shafer.
An easy to use interface that allows students to set appointments with a Nutritionist.
An example of the review system.

Inspiration

The idea of Plateful was rooted in a common concern: the challenge that freshmen face in maintaining a healthy diet when confronted with an overwhelming amount of dining options and limited nutritional information. Our founding team experienced firsthand the notorious "Freshman 15," with some members discouraged with significant weight gain, while others faced weight loss during their initial year in college.

This experience highlighted a glaring issue prevalent in many college settings. Freshmen, often away from home for the first time, find themselves navigating the complexities of eating healthy without adequate guidance on the nutritional content of their meals. This lack of information can lead to unintentional unhealthy eating habits, despite the best intentions.

Recognizing this gap, we were inspired to create a solution that would empower students, especially freshmen, with the knowledge and tools to make informed dietary choices. We envisioned an app that not only simplifies the process of identifying healthy meal options but also personalizes the experience based on individual health goals and dietary preferences. Our aim was to transform the daunting task of maintaining a balanced diet on campus into a manageable and even enjoyable experience, thereby addressing the problem that freshmen commonly face.

Design Process

Plateful was built using a multi-disciplinary approach, combining expertise in health, software engineering, and user experience design. We started by conducting extensive research on the nutritional needs and common dietary challenges faced by college students. This was followed by a series of brainstorming sessions to ideate the most valuable features for the app.

The technical development was carried out using a robust tech stack. The front-end user interface was designed using Figma, providing a collaborative environment for the team to design for both iOS and Android platforms. We utilized React, a JavaScript library that allowed us to develop a frontend with components that could be shared throughout the UI, as well as Tailwind which allowed us to easily style the app to fit our mockups. We used GitHub to share the code base, which promoted collaboration between all the developers on the team.

A significant feature we focused on was the app’s integration with the VCU nutritionist office. Plateful simplifies the appointment scheduling process, allowing students to set appointments inside the app rather than calling the doctor's office directly.

Challenges we ran into

One of the more daunting challenges we faced was distinguishing Plateful in a market where similar solutions, such as GET Mobile for viewing menu offerings and VCU's nutritional health data on their dining website, already exist. These platforms provide valuable services but often lack a personalized approach and suffer from disjointed user experiences.

Our research revealed that while these existing solutions offer parts of what students need, none of them provide a holistic approach. For instance, GET Mobile is excellent for viewing menus, but it doesn't offer nutritional tracking or personalized dietary suggestions. Similarly, VCU’s website provides nutritional data but lacks integration with actual meal planning or a user-friendly interface.

The primary issue with these existing solutions is their compartmentalized approach. They address only fragments of the overall dining experience, forcing students to navigate through multiple platforms to find food, order it, and track their health. This not only consumes more time but also makes the process cumbersome and less engaging.

Recognizing this gap, we took on the challenge to develop Plateful, a comprehensive solution that amalgamates these three critical aspects — finding food, ordering food, and health tracking — into a singular, user-friendly interface. We focused on creating a personalized experience, where the app not only suggests meals based on available campus options but also aligns these suggestions with the user’s dietary goals and preferences.

By tackling this challenge, Plateful stands out by offering a more integrated, intuitive, and personalized approach to campus dining and nutritional health, catering to the specific and varied needs of college students.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are immensely proud of developing a user-friendly app that simplifies healthy eating for college students. Our integration of meal plan systems and nutritional tracking in a single platform is a notable accomplishment.

We also take pride in our successful collaborations with mentors, which were crucial in providing a well-rounded and effective solution.

What we learned

Throughout this project, we learned the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration. Combining insights from different engineering disciplines, technology, and design was key to creating an effective solution.

We also learned a lot about the diverse dietary needs and preferences of college students, which helped us in making the app more inclusive and adaptable to different dietary requirements.

What's next for Plateful

Moving forward, we plan to expand Plateful's features to include more advanced meal planning assistance. We also aim to incorporate AI-driven personalized nutrition advice based on user preferences and dietary needs.

Another future goal is to partner with more universities and potentially integrate with fitness and wellness apps to offer a more holistic approach to health and wellness for college students.

Finally, we are exploring the potential of using data analytics to provide insights into campus-wide dietary trends, which could assist universities in making more informed decisions about their dining offerings.