Meal Saver

Savor Savings, Satisfy Cravings: Your Ultimate Food Coupon and Free Food Finder

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Inspiration

The inspiration behind our project stems from the desire to address the common struggle among university students to find affordable and accessible food options. Many students face financial constraints and often resort to skipping meals or compromising on the quality of their nutrition. We wanted to create a solution that alleviates this burden by aggregating information about places offering free food and food coupons specifically tailored to university students.

What it does

Our webpage serves as a centralized platform that aggregates information about various places offering free food and food coupons for university students. It provides a user-friendly interface where students can easily browse through available options based on their location, preferences, and dietary restrictions. Additionally, users can contribute by sharing new listings or updates, fostering a collaborative community effort to support one another in accessing affordable meals. More often then not, Clubs and Organizations are looks for more people to attend their events since the club sponsors care mainly about the number of attendees and food is one way that they try to attract more students.

How we built it

We built the webpage using a combination of front-end and back-end technologies. The front-end development involved usign TypeScript with React to create an intuitive and visually appealing user interface. For the back end, we utilized supabase hosting to manage the authentication and as a host for the SQL database. We also integrated the open-sounce JS mapping API, Leaflet, to provide location-based services and ensure accurate recommendations for users.

Challenges we ran into

Throughout the development process, we encountered several challenges that tested our problem-solving skills and teamwork. Some of the major challenges included:

  • Data Gathering: Acquiring comprehensive and up-to-date information about free food and food coupons required extensive research and data collection from various sources.
  • User Verification: Implementing a reliable user verification system to ensure the authenticity of submitted listings while maintaining user privacy and security posed a significant challenge.
  • Optimization: Optimizing the webpage for performance and scalability to accommodate a growing user base and frequent updates without compromising speed or stability was a complex task.

Despite these challenges, we remained resilient and sought innovative solutions to overcome them effectively.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • Creating Impact: Developing a platform that directly addresses a pressing issue faced by university students and contributes to improving their overall well-being.
  • Community Engagement: Establishing a supportive community of users who actively contribute by sharing valuable information and fostering a culture of collaboration and assistance.
  • Technical Proficiency: Enhancing our technical skills in web development, data management, and user experience design through hands-on experience and continuous learning.

What we learned

Our journey in developing Meal Saver taught us invaluable lessons that extend beyond technical expertise:

  • Collaboration: Effective communication and collaboration are essential for team success, especially when working on a project with diverse skill sets and perspectives.
  • Adaptability: Flexibility and adaptability are key when faced with unexpected challenges or changes in project requirements, allowing us to pivot and find alternative solutions.
  • Community Impact: Small initiatives can have a significant impact on communities, emphasizing the importance of leveraging technology for social good and addressing real-world problems.

What's next for Meal Saver

Moving forward, we envision several potential enhancements and expansions for Meal Saver:

  • Expanded Coverage: Increasing the coverage area to include more universities and regions, ensuring broader accessibility and support for students nationwide.
  • Integration with Campus Resources: Collaborating with university administrations and local businesses to integrate Meal Saver with existing campus resources and support initiatives related to student welfare and food insecurity.
  • Enhanced Personalization: Implementing advanced algorithms for personalized recommendations based on user preferences, dietary requirements, and past interactions with the platform.
  • Cross-Platform Support: Since we use React for our frontend, we plan to port it into React Native and create Native applications for both Android and iOS

Overall, our goal is to continue evolving Meal Saver into a comprehensive and indispensable tool for university students, empowering them to access affordable and nutritious meals while fostering a sense of community and support.

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