Basic Books - Illustration by Tina An
A Food Tracking App That Reduces Waste and Connects Communities.
Introduction
Tracknshare is a connected system designed to support consumers in planning meals and food purchases, with the goal of minimizing food waste. Originally envisioned for student households and shared apartments, Tracknshare’s concept is simple: make it
easier to track what you buy, use what you already have, and share what you won’t. Thanks to RFID and computer vision, Tracknshare can register products purchased at the supermarket when placed in a dedicated tote bag (we even built a prototype!) and compare them
with items already at home—detecting duplicates or suggesting combinations. At home, users are notified when products are nearing expiration and can choose to share them with nearby users, turning potential waste into shared value.
Overview
Background
Academic
Team
Duration
Three months
2022/23
Role
System design
Prototyping
Introduction
Tracknshare is a connected system designed to support consumers in planning meals and food purchases, with the goal of minimizing food waste. Originally envisioned for student households and shared apartments, Tracknshare’s concept is simple: make it easier to track what you buy, use what you already have, and share what you won’t. Thanks to RFID and computer vision, Tracknshare can register
products purchased at the supermarket when placed in a dedicated tote bag (we even built a prototype!) and compare them with items already at home—detecting duplicates or suggesting combinations. At home, users are notified when products are nearing expiration and can choose to share them with nearby users, turning potential waste into shared value.
What inspired us
It all started here: Goal 12 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals — “Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.” As a student project, it was also shaped by our own experiences at home, with some of us struggling to reduce food waste.
Image source
UN Website
Context
The fight against food waste is one of the biggest challenges we face today. In Italy, differences between urban and rural living, along with varied household structures, shape how food is managed. In cities like Milan, student dorms and shared apartments offered a chance to observe how groceries are consumed in fast-paced environments, and whether (and how), they’re shared among people with different relationships.
Research
Research
We conducted a survey to explore the food purchasing and consumption habits of students from our university and others in Milan. Along the way, we ended up including a broader pool of potential users—mainly young workers sharing
accommodations with students. We asked about their habits and schedules, whether they followed a routine, and what a typical day in their life looked like. A clear pattern quickly emerged as many of them were facing the same challenges:
Key insights
Frequent grocery trips with small purchases, often due to not having a car to enable less frequent but more intentional shopping.
Regular online food delivery orders.
Busy schedules that left little time to go home and plan meals before grocery shopping.
Without family responsibilities, many skipped meals or ate out instead.
In households with pre-set rules like “everyone eats their own food,” people were often reluctant to share.
Diverse backgrounds resulted in different tastes and eating habits.
Relationships with neighbors were often minimal or non-existent, making food sharing a new and unfamiliar concept.
Problem statement
Food waste is significantly more common in shared student households, where irregular schedules and individual habits make it difficult to coordinate grocery use and sharing.
Research
Our survey results are supported by UNEP's 2021 report on food waste, drawing a clear picture of the problem's scale and showing how consumer habits impact it at an individual level.
Who is Tracknshare for?
Our ideal user is a student or young professional living in a shared apartment, who wants to reduce waste, save money, and coordinate food use more easily with housemates.
How does Tracknshare work?
We developed a system that combines established technologies like RFID scanning with the advancements of computer vision. The standard product includes a kit with a SmarTote, one or two cameras, and the app. The cost could be split between the household components or purchased upfront by homeowners as an added
service in the lease. In the event of a commercial launch, the app would remain free to use without requiring the full kit; users could simply add and remove products manually. In the next slide, a video (with English subtitles) briefly demonstrates how the entire kit works.
How does Tracknshare work?
(Subtitled)
IA
App
Track
Scan
App
My contribution to the project also included app prototyping and the development of a limited yet functional icon pack — including placeholder icons to stand in for product images. These frames illustrate how users navigate the app’s sections, easily access and manage the broader Tracknshare system, and move seamlessly between
tracking and sharing modes. This transition isn’t limited to the navigation bar; it also happens through strategically placed cards within the tracking section that connect to the sharing flow, whether by suggesting a recipe or enabling interaction with neighboring users.
Recipes
Logo
Typography
Icon Pack
Color System
Conclusion
Tracknshare was built around a simple idea: reducing food waste starts with knowing what we have, what we need, and what we can share. By combining smart tracking with thoughtful design, the system supports more mindful habits in everyday life—especially in shared homes, where
coordination is key. Whether it’s avoiding duplicate purchases, using ingredients before they expire, or offering them to others nearby, Tracknshare turns routine actions into opportunities to waste less and connect more.
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© 2025 Andrea Grilli