SustainABite

Inspiration

As university students, we noticed two recurring issues:

Budget constraints—many students can’t afford regular groceries.
Food waste from bulk buying—students often buy in bulk to save money but can’t finish everything before it spoils.

We were inspired by Food Stash’s mission to rescue and redistribute food, so we created a solution that addresses both of these student-specific pain points while contributing to the larger goal of reducing food insecurity in our community. We aimed to tackle the issue of food waste at its core by preventing the over-purchasing of food, rather than merely addressing the consequences of excess. Our goal is to foster sustainable and healthy eating habits among university students.

What it does

SustainABite lets university students:

Share food items they can’t finish with others on campus.
Split bulk purchases to save money and reduce spoilage.
Track their food-sharing impact through a dashboard.
Partner with organizations like Food Stash to receive or donate surplus food. It’s all about making food-sharing simple, social, and sustainable.

How we built it

We used React Native to build a mobile app with:

An intuitive form and selection interface for item sharing
A clean, modular dashboard that visualizes student impact
Navigation that connects donation, request, and confirmation flows
Profile integration for a community feel

Challenges we ran into

As most of us were first-time hackers, there was a lot of learning on the fly, including React Native, and Figma. We struggled to decide which aspects of the project to prioritize given the limited time constraints. We really wanted to focus on implementing the key features to target eliminating food surplus while maintaining an aspect of community and a clean UI.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We built a fully functional prototype with smooth navigation and a clean design. We also were able to successfully align our app with the mission of Food Stash, emphasizing both sustainability and community!

What we learned

On top of learning all the technical aspects as primarily first-time hackers, we also learned how important clear communication and goal-setting are when working with case challenges!

What's next for SustainABite

Implementing backend (using Firebase for login authentication to support multiple users, use Firestore to store data for matching)
In-app chat feature for easier accessibility and improved security.
Partner directly with local charities/food programs (eg. UBC Sprouts) to sync food requests and deliveries.
Add user profiles and rewards to encourage continued community participation.