Inspiration
Finding out what's on the menu at the university dining halls can be challenging. Currently, students need to navigate through various platforms and menus to get the information they need. This process can be cumbersome and time-consuming. To simplify this experience, we propose a solution that delivers the daily menu directly to students.
What it does
Our service, University Meals, offers a convenient way for students to access the daily menu from their university's dining halls. By subscribing to our email service, students will receive a well-formatted menu every morning at 6:00 AM EST. This eliminates the need to constantly check different platforms for menu updates, providing a quick and easy way for students to plan their meals.
How we built it
University Meals consists of two main components:
Frontend: The frontend of University Meals is built using the React UI framework, providing an intuitive and responsive user interface. We utilized JavaScript for dynamic content updates and a seamless user experience.
Backend: The backend of University Meals is powered by Python, using the Flask web framework for handling data. We employed SQLite for database management, ensuring efficient data storage and retrieval. To send emails to users, we integrated with a mailing service similar to Mailchimp.
Challenges we ran into
Building University Meals presented several challenges, especially for our team, who were new to web development. We faced difficulties in integrating React with Flask, sending mass emails, and hosting the website. However, through perseverance and collaboration, we were able to overcome these challenges.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We are proud to have successfully hosted a website remotely, a significant achievement considering our limited experience in web development. Additionally, we are proud of our ability to format emails effectively and embed HTML content, enhancing the user experience.
What we learned
Throughout the development of University Meals, we gained valuable experience in various technologies, including React, JavaScript, Flask, SQLite, and email automation tools. This project has not only expanded our technical skills but also deepened our understanding of web development.
What's next for University Meals
In the future, we plan to enhance University Meals by personalizing emails for each user based on their dining preferences. By leveraging user data, we aim to provide more tailored recommendations and improve the overall user experience.
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