Grabme

Inspiration

The inspiration for Grabme came from a shocking paradox in our society: while tons of perfectly edible food are thrown away every day by restaurants and households, hundreds of thousands of people in need and local shelters struggle to secure their next meal. We wanted to remove the barrier between surplus and need through technology that makes food donation as easy and fast as ordering a taxi or food through a mobile app.

What it does

Grabme is a Crowdsourced Food Rescue platform that connects in real time:

Individual donors and organizations with surplus food

People and groups in need who can request support

The wider community through public food distribution events

The platform features:

An interactive map for discovering active donations and needs near you

A smart chat system (direct and group messaging) for coordinating pickups

AI Insights (algorithmic forecasting) to identify critical areas at high risk of food shortages and monitor expiration dates

Cross-platform access: a native mobile app (Flutter) and a web platform (React)

How we built it

The project is built on a modern and scalable technology stack:

Frontend: React.js with Vite for the web version and Flutter for the mobile app, delivering a premium design with Glassmorphism elements

Backend & Database: Supabase (PostgreSQL) for data storage and authentication management

Real-time: Supabase Realtime for instant updates to chats and the map without page reloads

Maps: Mapbox and OpenStreetMap for accurate geolocation and navigation

Styling: Vanilla CSS and Tailwind for a clean and responsive interface

Challenges we ran into

One of the biggest challenges was the chat system and synchronizing state in real time between the web and mobile versions — ensuring that when someone posts a request from the field on their phone, it appears instantly on the desktop map at a nonprofit’s central office. Managing RLS (Row Level Security) policies in the database for secure access to private chats also required careful architectural planning.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We successfully built a fully functional MVP for both Web and Mobile in a remarkably short time

We integrated AI logic that automatically analyzes request density and marks Hotspots — areas in urgent need of humanitarian support

The app’s design goes beyond traditional standards for social impact projects, delivering a premium experience that encourages users to return

What we learned

We learned how important accessibility is when designing software for diverse demographic groups. We also realized that transparency and fast communication are essential for building trust in volunteer-driven platforms. On the technical side, we deepened our knowledge of building real-time architectures and optimizing queries for GIS (Geographical Information Systems).