MealMapper

Time to cook!
Enter the ingredients you have at home
Enter the ingredients you're ready to purchase
Grant location access to find grocery stores in your selected radius
Create recipes tailored to your past entries
Cost-effective grocery lists based on nearby grocery stores
Use Google Maps for directions!

Inspiration

When deciding on a project to develop our team wanted to tackle a social issue that could have widespread benefits. We picked a topic we all felt passionate about and this topic was food security. With increasing costs of living and the rising rate of inflation it is becoming increasingly difficult for individuals and families to afford their next meals. In an effort to promote the overall well-being of our community and their food security we created MealMapper.

What it does

MealMapper allows you to input ingredients you may already have at home and ingredients that you want to cook with and generates delicious and nutritious meals from a budget-friendly grocery list. Based on your inputted location, MealMapper finds nearby grocery stores and compares the cost of a set grocery list between each store.

Challenges we ran into

We faced two primary hurdles. Firstly, incorporating a Google Maps API into our website proved difficult, especially when it came to blending JavaScript with our existing HTML and CSS code. Secondly, our limited experience with GitHub posed a challenge as we attempted to use its branching and merging features to consolidate various files into a single project.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We felt a great sense of achievement in successfully integrating the Google Maps API, a task that was challenging and time-consuming. Overcoming this obstacle and many others as a team was truly a rewarding experience. Additionally, mastering CSS styles and customizing them to our preferences was a significant accomplishment, given that we were learning and creating simultaneously.

What we learned

We learned the basics of creating a project on GitHub and leveraging its features including branching and version control. Furthermore, this was the first coding project for all of us as we are in our first year of the BCS program. This journey has taught us the comprehensive breakdown of creating a project from start to finish. As well, we learned how to integrate the various languages we used such as HTML, CSS and Javascript to create an interactive web application.

What's next for MealMapper

Looking ahead, our roadmap for enhancing MealMapper includes incorporating features such as Instacart or similar online delivery services. We would also like to add the option of a cost per serving function so families can budget their costs per meal. Furthermore, we plan to integrate a functionality that creates a meal plan tailored to ingredient preferences, all while adhering to a specified weekly budget.