FoodBridge
AI-powered food redistribution platform that connects donors, receivers, and delivery agents through real-time matching, notifications, and logistics workflows.
Overview
FoodBridge is an AI-powered food redistribution platform built to connect donors, receivers, and delivery agents in real time. The project focuses on reducing food waste through intelligent matching, logistics coordination, and timely notifications.
Problem Statement
Surplus food is often wasted because matching donors with the right receivers and coordinating delivery quickly is operationally difficult. FoodBridge explores how backend systems can help automate that process using role-based workflows, real-time status tracking, and AI-assisted matching.
Features
- Secure authentication and authorization
- Donor, receiver, and delivery agent roles
- Food donation and request workflows
- AI-driven food matching
- Real-time delivery tracking
- Email notifications
- WhatsApp notifications
- Expiry-aware donation tracking
- AI modules planned for demand prediction and route planning
- Computer vision planned for food quality detection
Core Services
The system is composed of independently deployable services, each responsible for a single business capability.
Authentication
Handles secure login, signup, and role-based access control.
Donation Service
Lets donors publish available food with quantity, location, and expiry information.
Request Service
Allows receivers to request food based on need and category.
Matching Service
Intelligently matches donations with receivers using food type, quantity, distance, and urgency.
Delivery Tracking
Tracks assigned delivery agents and provides live delivery status.
Notification Service
Sends updates through email and WhatsApp for donation, request, and delivery events.
Technology Stack
Technologies, frameworks, infrastructure, and tooling used throughout the development of this project.
Backend
Java • Spring Boot • Spring Security • Spring Data JPA
Database
PostgreSQL • MySQL
Messaging
Twilio API • SMTP
Infrastructure
Docker • Swagger
Developer Tools
React • Postman • Git
Engineering Decisions
Architectural choices made to improve scalability, maintainability, reliability, and long-term evolution of the system.
Role-Based Platform Design
The application separates donors, receivers, and delivery agents so each user type has a focused workflow and permissions model.
AI-Assisted Matching
FoodBridge uses matching logic based on category, quantity, location, and urgency to reduce waste and improve delivery efficiency.
Real-Time Notifications
Notification channels such as email and WhatsApp keep donors, receivers, and delivery agents updated throughout the workflow.
Logistics-Aware Workflows
The platform is designed around donation availability, request fulfillment, and delivery coordination rather than treating food redistribution as a simple CRUD flow.
Challenges
The most significant engineering challenges encountered while building the system.
Designing workflows for multiple user roles.
Matching donations with suitable receivers efficiently.
Coordinating delivery updates in real time.
Keeping food expiry and availability state accurate.
What I Learned
Key technical concepts and engineering practices gained during the implementation.
How to model a social-impact backend platform.
How to design role-based workflows.
How backend systems can support logistics and coordination.
How notifications improve operational transparency.
Future Improvements
Potential enhancements that could improve scalability, reliability, and maintainability.
Add production-grade AI models for demand prediction.
Add optimized route planning.
Introduce map-based ETA prediction.
Add food quality checks using computer vision.
Move notifications to asynchronous event processing.