UniversEATy

Order university canteen meals and reduce food waste.

Concept

My Role UX/UI Designer

Duration 10/2021 - 02/2022

About

During my time at university, I had the opportunity to work on an exciting project for my Interaction Design course. Our group was tasked with developing a website or app that would contribute to reducing waste. We decided to focus on food waste, specifically within university canteens. Thus, UniversEATy was born.

UniversEATy is an innovative app designed to minimize food waste in university canteens by optimizing meal planning, improving communication between students and canteen staff, and promoting sustainable food consumption habits. The project aimed to address the problem of food waste, which not only has a negative impact on the environment but also on the budgets of students and the university.

The app was designed with an intuitive user interface to facilitate its use by students and canteen staff. Key features included a pre-ordering system for meals, a meal tracking system, and an analytics dashboard to monitor waste levels. The app's design encouraged collaboration and communication, ensuring that both students and staff were active participants in waste reduction.

The pre-ordering system allowed students to reserve their preferred meals ahead of time. This enabled the canteen staff to prepare the appropriate amount of food, reducing the likelihood of leftovers. The meal tracking system, on the other hand, encouraged students to monitor their consumption habits and make conscious decisions about their food choices.

The analytics dashboard provided valuable insights into waste patterns within the university canteen, enabling the canteen management to make data-driven decisions on menu planning, portion sizes, and food procurement. This information was also shared with the students, increasing their awareness of the issue and fostering a sense of collective responsibility.

As a result of our efforts, UniversEATy successfully demonstrated the potential for technology to play a crucial role in addressing food waste in university canteens. The project highlighted the importance of collaboration between students, staff, and management in creating sustainable solutions. Ultimately, UniversEATy showcased how interaction design can be applied to real-world problems, promoting a more sustainable future for all.

Project details

For our project, we envisioned an app that would allow users to order their meals a day in advance by consulting the daily menu and making an in-app payment. This approach not only streamlined the meal preparation process but also helped reduce food waste by allowing the canteen staff to prepare meals according to the specific demand.

In addition to this primary feature, we also incorporated another service that enabled users to purchase "unsold food boxes." These boxes contained surplus food from the canteen that would otherwise go to waste. Users could purchase these boxes at a discounted price and pick them up in the early afternoon. This initiative not only reduced food waste but also provided a more affordable meal option for budget-conscious students.

By combining these two features, our app aimed to create a more sustainable and efficient university dining experience. The advanced meal ordering system helped minimize food waste by tailoring food preparation to actual demand, while the unsold food box service ensured that any remaining surplus food was still put to good use. Overall, this innovative app showcased the power of technology and thoughtful design in promoting sustainable solutions for everyday challenges.