November 1, 2018
UW project connects excess dining hall food with local non-profit agencies
An idea for a human centered design and engineering class project at the University of Washington is now a fully-functional website that pairs UW dining halls with local shelters to coordinate food donations as a way of reducing food waste.
The web platform, mealmatchup.org, works like this: Food providers log food donations and request pickups online. Trained food transporters then use the website to document proof-of-pickup and delivery, track food temperatures and navigate pickup and drop-off locations. Receiving agencies use the interface to understand what will be arriving, when, how much and who will be delivering it.
Meal Matchup was piloted in May 2018 with UW dining halls Local Point, The 8 and District Market and shelters Union Gospel Mission and Compass Housing Alliance. Improvements based on the pilot results will be made to the platform this fall.