Inspiration
Wendy and I have been discussing about the event space a lot and below is what Wendy has to tell, "With more than 10 years of event planning experience, I know firsthand the challenges event organizers face. I also attend a wide range of events across Atlanta—from concerts and festivals to author talks and community gatherings—and one thing I've consistently noticed is how poorly food waste is managed.
Over the past year, I've participated in several sustainability-focused events. While the content was often inspiring, I was surprised to see little to no food waste diversion in practice—even at events discussing food waste as a key issue.
Because I've spent so much time in the event space, I deeply understand why organizers struggle to address this problem. Event teams are stretched thin, budgets are tight, and sustainability initiatives often fall to the bottom of a very long priority list. With the knowledge I've gained through my MBA program and the growing accessibility of AI-powered tools, I saw an opportunity to help make sustainable event operations more achievable.
I also come from a background in social justice education and advocacy, so I naturally wanted RePlate to create value for communities experiencing food insecurity as well."
Coming to what inspired me, I have seen a lot of food being wasted in events as well and it bothers me that without thinking twice event organizers choose to discard the waste without considering composting options. Researching into this area I realized that the solutions existing are not being used enough and there isn't much being done in the event space. Bringing my passion of events and a desire to reduce food waste and hunger, I started putting this project together with Wendy. The event space is huge with massive quantities of food being wasted, there is an incredible opportunity to bring a positive change in the way we run events through RePlate.
What it does
RePlate is a zero-waste marketplace that eliminates event food waste by seamlessly connecting corporate organizers, gig workers, and local consumers.
Organizers use smart tools to calculate exact catering needs upfront and track their overall sustainability impact.
Gig workers earn money by safely packaging leftover premium food and selling it to residents at a deep discount during time-limited pop-ups.
Any unsold food is composted through commercial partners, creating a fully closed-loop system that keeps 100% of organic waste out of landfills.
How we built it
Frontend (Prototype): HTML5, CSS3 (Flexbox/Grid, Native CSS Variables), Vanilla JavaScript. Backend Architecture (Planned): Node.js/Express or Python (FastAPI), MongoDB for user and event data storage. AI & Machine Learning (Planned): Python, Scikit-Learn, and TensorFlow/PyTorch. We will train a predictive regression model (or Recurrent Neural Network) that ingests historical sales data, event size, seasonality, and attendee demographics to generate high-accuracy, ingredient-level plate count recommendations. APIs & Integrations: Google/Apple Pay APIs for resident checkout, and direct webhook integrations with commercial composting partners for automated bin delivery scheduling.
Challenges we ran into
The compressed timeline was our biggest challenge. The event industry involves many stakeholders, handoffs, and operational constraints, so we had to quickly understand the entire event lifecycle and identify solutions that could realistically fit into existing workflows.
We were also careful to design something event teams would actually use. Event staff are incredibly busy, and any solution that requires extensive training or additional work is unlikely to be adopted.
Another challenge was thinking about market incentives. Unlike cities such as San Francisco, Atlanta does not currently have strong regulatory pressure around food waste diversion. That meant we had to focus on creating value beyond sustainability alone and ensure our solution delivered meaningful operational and business benefits.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We are proud of how much we accomplished in a short period of time. We developed an MVP, researched the problem space, mapped stakeholder journeys, and built a compelling vision for how RePlate could create value across the event ecosystem.
Rather than starting with a solution and working backward, we invested time in understanding the problem, identifying key stakeholders, and validating where friction exists today. That process helped us design a solution grounded in real-world needs.
What we learned
One of our biggest takeaways is that there is no shortage of organizations working to reduce food waste. There are food rescue nonprofits, composting providers, AI-powered waste tracking tools, and sustainability consultants. Yet food waste remains a significant challenge, while food insecurity continues to affect millions of people.
That gap suggests there is still room—and a need—for innovation.
We also learned that many existing solutions work well in institutional settings such as universities, hospitals, and corporate dining halls. However, events present a different challenge: they are temporary, decentralized, and highly variable. Portable, flexible solutions are still needed.
Most importantly, we learned that technology alone is not enough. The strongest solutions emerge when technology is paired with a deep understanding of the people involved. As we mapped the event planner's journey, the barriers became much clearer—and so did the opportunities to address them.
What's next for RePlate
AI-Powered Predictive Ordering: Build out our machine learning model to analyze past event data, giving organizers highly accurate catering recommendations to prevent upfront waste.
Automated Corporate Integrations: Connect directly with commercial composters and donation platforms via API and auto-generate verified ESG impact reports for our corporate clients.
Real-World Pilots: Launch beta tests at for mid-sized events in the Atlanta area to refine our gig worker and composting logistics before scaling.
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