Second Course

App Logo
DashBoard
Business End Food Postings
Maps Integration
New Food Opportunity

Inspiration

In 2022, Canada alone wasted an estimated $30 billion in food. Meanwhile, 3 billion Canadians today cannot afford healthy meals. Something about these numbers just doesn't add up.

That's why, for McHacks 10, our team set out to combine the ever-pressing problem of food waste with the sharply rising rates of food insecurity by creating an app that connects local restaurant owners with Canadians in need, putting delicious meals on the table instead of in the trash for those who would otherwise not be able to afford it. Unlike other apps that offer food bundles at a reduced price, however, we opted to take it one step further -- inspired by the heartwarming success stories of Laurier University's recent Distro program, we decided that our program would offer its meals completely free of charge. After all, everyone deserves a chance to eat.

Of course, that applies to restaurant owners too. To compensate for consumers' inability to pay, we decided to flip the script on your typical loyalty program and reward not the consumers, but the restaurant owners with loyalty points for each bundle given out. 100% of the periodic ad revenue generated from our app will go directly into supporting the generous restaurant owners working with us, with a higher percentage of ad revenue going to the restaurant owners who donate the most bundles.

What it does

Restaurant owners looking to put their leftovers to a good cause can create a profile in which they list "bundles" available for pickup. Nearby bundles show up on a user's dashboard, where they may select a bundle and set a pickup time, generating a unique QR code corresponding to that order. When users pick up their bundles, the restaurant owner scans their QR code, earning points.

How we built it

We used Android Studio to build the app, programming in Java.

Challenges we ran into

None of us had ever used Android Studio or any other sort of mobile app development software before, and 3/4 had barely touched Java either! We spent a lot of time wrestling with lengthy tutorials in the wrong language, deprecated documentation, the general confusion of a totally new suite of tools, and more.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Creating a working QR code generator and scanner
Using user-inputted information to inform object-oriented generation of UI elements
Learning to integrate APIs with the Android Studio platform
Creating an app flow that moves intuitively from beginning to end

What we learned

New languages and new tools
To give ourselves permission to learn new things, experiment, and have some fun!

What's next for Second Course

Given more time, we'd love to include a search bar that will allow users to refine the bundles that appear on their dashboard by dietary accommodations, expiry date, or distance. We also hope to eventually integrate a chat feature so that users can communicate directly with restaurant owners, whether to give a heads-up that they're running late for a pickup or just to write them a well-deserved thank-you note.