Pantry

Home page
About page
Foods page
Sign up page
Map page

Inspiration

When we were brainstorming environment-related ideas, the topic of food expiration came up. One of our team members had an experience where, after putting some leftover croissants in the refrigerator, they were quickly forgotten. About a week and a half later, the expired croissants had gone bad and had to be thrown away. Another similar experience involved an orange which was left under a bed for too long and quickly went bad. After doing some follow-up research, we found out how big of a crisis food waste is in the world today. The idea for 'Pantry' is an app that will remind users about food expiration dates so they are able to make the most of their food and minimize waste.

What it does

'Pantry' is a web application that provides users with food logging and expiration tracking information. After creating an account using a valid email address on the 'Login' tab, a user is able to log in and view their storage. From the 'Foods' tab, items can be added and removed from storage locations associated with the account. The 'Grocery Map' shows a map of nearby grocery stores, which can be interacted with to view more details such as store hours and reviews. General information and facts can be found on the 'About' page, including links that highlight the food waste crisis.

How we built it

We built this application using the React framework with HTML and CSS for frontend development and FirebaseJS for the backend database. We programmed using the Visual Studio Code IDE, and GitHub was used for code sharing and collaboration.

Challenges we ran into

During this project, we struggled with forming connections between our database and frontend code. We tested several different databases such as MySQL and SQLite before finally finding success with FirebaseJS.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of how we came together to create this project in such a short amount of time, despite none of our team members having significant experience building web applications. Through teamwork and dedication, we were able to not only create a working app but also learn more about both frontend and backend development.

What we learned

Through the process of creating this project, we both gained new skills and were able to put into practice what we have learned in classes. For example, some members of our group are currently enrolled in databases class, and were able to put theoretical knowledge from class into practice by creating a custom database system. A few members had very little to no experience with frontend design using HTML and CSS, and were able to gain a basic understanding of these languages throughout the course of this hackathon.

What's next for Pantry

The next step for Pantry is to transition to a mobile app, in order to implement barcode scanning capabilities. Users would be able to directly scan a barcode with their phone camera, which would autofill all the information necessary for the food to be added to a storage location. In addition, we would like to add an option that displays sample recipes that are suggested based on which foods are nearing expiration, which will be useful for meal ideas.