ExtraBite

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Inspiration

We were interested in Goal #2 on the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and once we started doing some more research, we found out the sheer amount of food that is wasted every single day. We wanted to combine Goal #2 with some sort of way to prevent food waste and the damage it does to the environment.

What it does

ExtraBite connects organizations in need of food, such as soup kitchens, food banks and pantries, etc. with organizations that produce a lot of food waste, such as restaurants. The waste-producing organizations can register with our system, and they can log the food they have left over into the system. This data is then stored in a database, and the organizations that need the food can view the potential donations. They can filter them based on quantity, type of food, and more, and view the donors on a map. Donors have to agree to terms and conditions before they can make a donation, to ensure they are cooperating with food safety guidelines and regulations. Once a receiver selects a donation, it is delivered to them through electric vehicles, which also contributes to the sustainability of the environment.

How we built it

We built ExtraBite using React.js and Next.js for implementing the front end components and Firebase as a database for the backend. We also used Figma for the wireframes.

Challenges we ran into

Most of our team does not have much technical experience so this was our first time working with many of the tech stacks that we used. Setting up the firebase and linking it to our project so that the data is properly stored was a difficult process as the linking required a key that took us a while to find and properly use. Half of our team also started building the project in React.js and the other half used Next.js and although they are mostly compatible, a lot of the functionalities that we needed did not transfer from one to other such as loading images.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

As a team, this was our first web development project using react and firebase. We successfully integrated firebase to the project as a database in order to store users' information real time.

What we learned

Through the process of building ExtraBite, we learned how to set up a real time database, so that the user's log in information is stored and can be accessed every time that they log back in as well as to provide other information in other parts of our web app, such as location of a donor. We also learned how to implement a web application from the wireframes that we built using Next.js and link between multiple pages.

What's next for ExtraBite

We hope to fully implement the website extremely soon! We also eventually want to implement a chat feature that would allow donors and receivers to communicate with each other.