Team:

• Chen Wenlong, Kai, a 3rd year Computer Science undergraduate who is passionate about AI, technology, and leveraging innovation to solve social challenges.

• Pranavi, a 3rd year Computer Science undergraduate who is passionate about learning and using her skills for something socially good, fun and exciting!

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Project Overview:

NUSBuffets is a platform designed to reduce food waste on campus by connecting students with surplus food from campus events, buffets, and catered meetings. Many university events often result in excess food, which is typically discarded. At the same time, many students would appreciate free meals, especially given rising living costs. NUSBuffets provides a structured, real-time system to redistribute surplus food efficiently, reducing waste and fostering a more sustainable food culture at NUS.

 

Through the app, event organizers can quickly list surplus food available for pickup, and students can receive instant notifications about available meals. This helps close the gap between food waste and food insecurity on campus.

 

Why the team applied for CCSGP Fellowship:

We were motivated by the significant amount of food waste generated at campus events. While informal methods of food-sharing exist through social media or word-of-mouth, these approaches are inefficient and unreliable. By leveraging technology, NUSBuffets aims to streamline the process, making it easier for both event organizers and students to participate in reducing food waste. The CCSGP Fellowship provided an ideal platform for us to develop and refine this solution, contributing to a more sustainable and socially responsible campus environment.

 

About the Project:

NUSBuffets is designed to be simple and effective:

• Event Organizers: Can list surplus food in under a minute, specifying the type of food, pickup location, and available quantity.

• Students: Receive push notifications about available food based on their location and preferences.

• Sustainability Tracking: The app provides data on food saved from wastage, helping to quantify its impact.

 

The platform ensures that food is redistributed quickly and efficiently while maintaining food safety guidelines. Over time, the app could be expanded to include partnerships with food vendors, external sustainability organizations, and other universities looking to implement similar initiatives.

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What the team learned from the CCSGP experience:

Working on NUSBuffets has been a deeply insightful experience, teaching us valuable lessons in both technology development and social impact:

• Agile Project Management: With just two people in the development team, we adopted an agile workflow, breaking the project into sprints and closely managing our responsibilities to stay on track.

• Technical Development: We gained experience in full-stack development, focusing on frontend responsiveness and backend integration.

• User-Centric Design: Gathering feedback from potential users helped us refine the app’s usability and prioritize key features.

• Problem-Solving: We tackled challenges such as real-time data synchronization and map integration, learning how to efficiently debug and optimize our system.

Additionally, the project has given us a greater appreciation for the intersection of technology and sustainability. Through ongoing testing and iteration, we aim to refine NUSBuffets into a staple tool for the NUS community, with the potential to scale beyond campus.

 

NUSBuffets is a step towards a more sustainable and food-conscious campus. With continued support and adoption, we hope to make surplus food redistribution an effortless and widely accepted practice within NUS and beyond.

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Screenshots:

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