A Study on Food Wastage Reduction through Digital Food Redistribution

Abstract

Food waste is a serious global concern, it affects food security, environmental sustainability, and social well-being. In a lot of places, India included, massive amounts of edible food get thrown away every day, while many people are still dealing with hunger and malnutrition. That mismatch between food surplus and food shortage really shows why we need a faster, more organized system for food reallocation, not just a few slow efforts here and there. Most traditional donation approaches are manual, slow, and somewhat fragmented. Donors, NGOs, and volunteers often rely on phone calls, informal messages, or local coordination. In practice, this can delay collection and lower the likelihood of on-time delivery, and the surplus food can become unsafe before it even reaches someone who needs it. So, there is, clearly, a need for a technology-based solution that can connect all stakeholders on one platform and enable real-time coordination to flow efficiently. This research suggests the study of food wastage through android platform by creating an application. It provides for a seamless connection between food donors, NGOs, and volunteers through using a single platform. The application includes a possibility of registering donated food, marking the locations where hungry people tend to congregate, and providing real-time feedback. These key functionalities include registering excess food, identifying areas prone to hunger problems, and offering real-time feedback for operations. In order to facilitate optimal recovery logistics, this model utilizes Firebase for real-time synchronization of information, along with AI/ML approaches and Traveling Salesperson Problem models. In addition, a historical delivery logs improve volunteer coordination, transparency, and overall system accountability. The key purpose of the application is food wastage minimisation and hunger relief support.