Shelf Chef

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Inspiration

The inspiration for my pantry app came from seeing my mom clean out our pantry and throw away food that had expired or was close to expiring. I realizes how much food waste happens daily, and I realized that many of these items could have been used to create meals or even donated to people in need before they went bad. Learning about food insecurity and volunteering with organizations like Feeding America further also inspired me to create a tool that would help households reduce food waste and donate unused items to those in need.

What it does

Shelf Chef is a pantry management app designed to prevent food waste and food insecurity. The app allows users to track expiration dates, generates recipes based on ingredients nearing expiration, and provides opportunities to donate unused food to local food banks. By connecting users with recipes and donation opportunities, Shelf Chef ensures no food goes to waste.

How we built it

I built Shelf Chef using Swift and SwiftUI. The app's backend includes a database that tracks pantry items and expiration dates, with algorithms to prioritize ingredients based on how close they are to expiring. I implemented a map feature that uses location services to allow users to find nearby food banks. The app also includes a search functionality for ingredients and recipes, designed to make the user experience seamless.

Challenges we ran into

One challenge was designing an algorithm that could suggest expiration dates based on ingredient names. Implementing location-based mapping features was also challenging. Finally, managing large sets of food bank data efficiently and creating a recipe generation algorithm with pantry data needed lots of planning and testing.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

I am proud of creating an app that directly addresses food waste and food insecurity. I'm also proud of successfully implementing location-based features that guide users to nearby food banks.

What we learned

This project taught me the importance of designing with the user in mind, particularly when addressing social issues through technology. Working with map APIs to incorporate location-based functionality was also a learning curve. Also, testing and handling edge cases, such as missing location permissions or incomplete pantry data was difficult.

What's next for Shelf Chef

I'd like to add a feature that'll scan items with barcodes. Also, I'd to create a community feature where users can share surplus ingredients or recipes with their local neighborhood and support different languages by using international food bank databases to reach a global audience.