/Wastefree

App to help reduce food waste.

Primary LanguagePython

Wastefree - Jainam Shah, Arnav Tiwari, Uzayr Syed, Shreyas Konanki

What the problem is:

  • Food waste is one of the biggest contributors to environmental issues.
  • High food waste levels are primarily due to negligence.

Food waste is a problem across the world,

  • Households frequently forget or leave food beyond its shelf life, leading to significant waste.
  • According to the UN Environment Programme’s Food Waste Index Report, over 1 billion tons of food went to waste globally in the last year (link).
  • In the US alone, we waste about 92 billion pounds of food per year (link)

Why our project solves this issue:

  • We designed an app called Wastefree to reduce food waste and implement strategies for effectively using excessive food.
  • Our app helps users keep track of pantry items using receipt data, considering unit economics, expiration dates, and meal ideas.

Goals:

  • Help users make the most of their food purchases and reduce waste.
  • Support environmental sustainability and improve ecological conditions.

Technologies used:

  • Kivy (framework)
  • Python (programming language)
  • SQLite Database (database)
  • Crypt (password hashing)
  • Mindee (optical character recognition)

User-friendly features:

  • Receipt scanner: Streamlines categorization of food items from uploaded receipts.
  • Manual item management: Allows users to add/remove items as needed.
  • Email notifications: Alerts users about items nearing their expiration dates (within 3 days).
  • Customized recipes: Provides recipe suggestions based on available ingredients to find purpose for leftover food.

Ultimate goal:

  • Position Wastefree as a tool that benefits both the planet and users by promoting resource availability and reducing food waste.

Credits:

  • Thank you to allrecipies.com for their recipe information
  • Thank you to mindee-Api for their character recognition software.