Plate-Two-Plate

Inspiration

Food waste is a major global issue, with millions of pounds of edible food ending up in landfills while many people face food insecurity. We wanted to create a platform that connects donors with recipients, making it easy to share surplus food and reduce waste in our communities

What it does

Plate-Two-Plate is a web application that allows users to donate surplus food and for recipients to claim available donations. Users can track their donation and receiving history, see the impact of their contributions, and get personalized feedback on how much food and CO₂ they’ve saved.

How we built it

We built the backend using Node.js and Express, with RESTful API endpoints for authentication, donation management, and user history. The frontend communicates with these endpoints. We used JWT for secure authentication and implemented custom logic. All data is managed in a simple database with users and donations tables.

Challenges we ran into

Designing a secure authentication system and ensuring users can only access their own data. Handling edge cases in donation claiming and history tracking. Creating meaningful impact messages that motivate users to participate.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Built a working end-to-end donation and claiming system. Ensured user data privacy and security throughout the app.

What we learned

The importance of clear API design and secure authentication. How to calculate and communicate real-world impact in a way that motivates users. The value of robust error handling and user feedback.