Summer Saver

The search interface!
How to add an item!
Example results!

Inspiration 😊

According to Mass.gov, the average US college student throws out 640 pounds of garbage a year—most of which is generated from moving out. But garbage is only garbage to some—numerous students moving in for summer research, or into college for the first time, are in search of basic items (bikes, TV’s, microwaves) that departing students might leave for the landfill. ♻️🎓

What it does 📱🛒

Our app, Summer Saver, seeks to bridge this gap between collegiate buyers and sellers in a way that's far more streamlined than desperately finding friends or acquaintances for discarded items. Users with things they don't need—whether it be a bike they aren't planning on using over the summer or a microwave they no longer need—can post offers, and those moving in during the summer for research, or freshmen coming to school for the first time, can use text, date range, and price filters to search for what they need. 📦🔍

How we built it 🛠️

This minimal viable product is built with a React frontend on top of a Vercel serverless Python backend. Currently, the database is populated with fake data, and we developed a preliminary way for the database to be updated with user input. The business logic for the search, including date range and maximum price matching, is located in the backend. 💻📊

What we learned🎓

Madeleine: I came into HackMIT with relatively little computer science experience; I had never truly completed a project outside of coursework. While I was intimidated at first, over the course of the hackathon, I learned a lot about web development and collaborative programming from my teammates. Seeing our project come to life was so cool, and I can't wait to learn and do more.

What's next for Summer Saver 🚀

In the future, we plan on debugging the posting feature. Also, we want to extend the app to support coordination for storage options; for instance, a student moving out over the summer can pay rates much lower than the cost of a storage pod to keep their things with another student living in a suite with some extra space for the summer. Additionally, we plan on developing an auction feature for goods in high demand (such as bikes). 🧹📦🔨