LinkMeal

The Problem

Food waste is a massive issue, especially in university settings. At the same time, many students struggle with food insecurity. LinkMeal was born from the idea of connecting these two problems into one solution.

The Solution

LinkMeal is a mobile application that allows students to share their unused meal credits or leftover food with other students. The app creates a community-driven approach to reducing food waste while helping students in need.

Features

For Donors

• Post available meals or meal credits
• Set pickup times and locations
• Track donation history
• Receive notifications when meals are claimed

For Recipients

• Browse available meals nearby
• Request meals with one tap
• Coordinate pickup with donors
• Rate and thank donors

Community Features

• Campus-specific communities
• Leaderboards for top donors
• Impact statistics (meals saved, waste reduced)

Technical Implementation

Mobile App (React Native)

The frontend was built with React Native to ensure a smooth experience on both iOS and Android. Key technical decisions included:

• Redux for state management
• React Navigation for seamless screen transitions
• Push notifications for real-time meal alerts
• Geolocation for nearby meal discovery

Backend (Symfony)

The API was built with Symfony, providing:

• RESTful API endpoints
• User authentication and authorization
• Database management with Doctrine ORM
• Real-time notifications via WebSockets

My Contributions

As part of the development team, I was responsible for:

• Designing the UI/UX of the mobile application
• Implementing frontend features in React Native
• Collaborating on API design and integration
• User testing and iterating based on feedback

Challenges Overcome

• Real-time coordination: Ensuring donors and recipients could communicate effectively
• Trust and safety: Building features to verify users and ensure safe exchanges
• Adoption: Creating an intuitive onboarding experience to grow the user base

Impact

During our pilot phase, LinkMeal helped redistribute dozens of meals that would have otherwise gone to waste, demonstrating the viability of peer-to-peer food sharing among students.