WasteNot

Welcome!
Here is your food item inventory!
Here are your generated Recipes!
Find Food Banks near you!

Inspiration

The inspiration for WasteNot came from observing the growing issue of food waste and its impact on both the environment and communities. We noticed how much food, even in households and small businesses, often goes unused simply because its expiry date is overlooked or it's forgotten in the back of the fridge. This motivated us to create an app that helps users track and manage their food, suggests recipes based on what they already have, and even connects them to food banks for donation, reducing unnecessary waste and addressing food insecurity.

What it does

WasteNot is a smart meal kit recommendation web app that helps users prevent food waste by tracking their food inventory, notifying them of upcoming expiry dates, and suggesting recipes based on their available ingredients and impeding expiry dates. The app also allows users to donate unused food by locating nearby food banks through integration with Google Maps. Users can input their ingredients manually or by taking photos of their receipts, making inventory management quick and easy. The app’s goal is to make food management efficient while contributing to reducing food waste and promoting sustainability.

How we built it

We built WasteNot using a combination of React for the frontend and Node.js with Express for the backend. The frontend is designed with Chakra UI for a responsive and user-friendly interface, incorporating features such as ingredient management, recipe suggestions, and food bank locators. The backend handles user authentication, inventory tracking, and API integrations with Spoonacular for recipes and Google Maps for food bank locations. We implemented a MongoDB database for storing user data, food inventories, and recipe details.

For receipt photo recognition, we incorporated a photo-upload feature, along with a Google Document AI's custom extractor that we trained on datasets from Kaggle. This enables the automatic input of food items from receipts, streamlining the process of inventory management.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Smart inventory tracking: The ability to automatically input food items from receipt photos is a significant achievement, and it's powered by Google Document AI and Kaggle datasets. Food bank locator: The integration of Google Maps API to help users find nearby food banks is a key feature that brings real-world value to the app. Recipe suggestions: WasteNot's dynamic recipe suggestions based on expiring inventory is a feature we’re proud of. It’s designed to help users make the most out of their available ingredients.

What we learned

API integration: Working with external APIs like Spoonacular and Google Maps helped us deepen our understanding of RESTful APIs and how to seamlessly integrate them into the app. Machine learning and AI: The use of Google Document AI for receipt recognition was a learning experience in AI and machine learning, especially around training and using custom models. UI/UX design: Working with Chakra UI and focusing on responsive design helped us refine our front-end skills while making the app accessible and user-friendly.

What's next for WasteNot

Expiry date recognition based on item: We plan to implement a function that automatically finds and inputs the expiry date of the ingredients. This will help users keep track of when their food items are likely to expire, ensuring they use them in time and further reducing food waste. The system will utilize product databases and smart scanning techniques, improving accuracy for expiry date recognition based on the type of item. Enhanced recognition accuracy: We plan to improve receipt recognition and inventory tracking by fine-tuning the machine learning model and incorporating more diverse datasets. Mobile app development: WasteNot will be expanded into a mobile app, enabling users to track their inventory and receive notifications on the go. Partnerships with food banks: We plan to collaborate with more local food banks and grocery stores to help users donate food easily and efficiently.