IoT-Aided Charity: An Excess Food Redistribution

Abstract

Food insecurity and food wastage represent two contrasting yet deeply interconnected global challenges. While millions face daily hunger, vast quantities of edible food are lost across the supply chain due to the absence of efficient redistri- bution mechanisms. This paper presents the design and imple- mentation of an IoT-enabled smart food redistribution system that integrates real-time environmental monitoring, RFID/NFC- based traceability, cloud computing, and a cross-platform mobile application to bridge the gap between food surplus and scarcity. Smart sensors (DHT11 for temperature and humidity, MQ- 5 for gas detection) are interfaced with an ESP32 microcon- troller to continuously monitor food quality parameters. Data is transmitted wirelessly to a cloud backend built using Spring Boot REST APIs and stored in MongoDB. A React Native mobile application provides role-specific interfaces for donors, consumers (recipients), and administrators. Experimental results demonstrate that the system enables real-time food condition monitoring via Bluetooth, automated donor-recipient match- making, and end-to-end traceability. The proposed architecture is scalable, modular, and future-ready for AI-driven demand forecasting and predictive spoilage detection.

Introduction

This text describes an IoT-based food redistribution system designed to reduce food waste and improve food access for food-insecure populations by enabling real-time monitoring and efficient donation coordination.

The problem identified is that a large amount of edible food is wasted globally while millions remain hungry, mainly due to inefficient, manual donation systems that lack coordination, real-time tracking, and food quality verification. Traditional methods rely on phone calls or emails between donors and NGOs, which often leads to delays, spoilage, and missed opportunities.

To solve this, the paper proposes an integrated IoT + cloud + mobile platform that enables smart food redistribution. The system uses sensors like DHT11 (temperature/humidity) and MQ-5 (gas detection for spoilage indicators) connected to an ESP32 microcontroller. These sensors continuously monitor food conditions and transmit data via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), allowing real-time freshness verification.

The backend is built using Spring Boot with MongoDB Atlas, which stores donation records, user data, and sensor readings, while also handling matchmaking between food donors and recipients. The frontend is a React Native mobile app that supports different user roles (donors, consumers, administrators, and volunteers) and enables food listing, acceptance, tracking, and live sensor monitoring.

The system architecture is layered, including sensing, device, connectivity, cloud processing, application, and planned analytics layers. Data flows from sensors → ESP32 → cloud backend → mobile app, with real-time alerts triggered when food quality thresholds are exceeded.

Conclusion

This paper presented an IoT-enabled smart food redistribution system that integrates hardware-level quality monitoring, cloud-based data management, and a mobile coordination platform into a unified, operational solution. By combining DHT11/MQ-5 sensors with an ESP32 microcontroller, Spring Boot REST APIs, MongoDB Atlas, and a React Native mobile application, the system ensures that only safe, verified food reaches recipients—while making the donation and acceptance process efficient and transparent. The proposed system demonstrably addresses the core limitations of existing manual food donation workflows: it enables real-time food condition monitoring, automated donor- recipient matchmaking, complete traceability via RFID/NFC, and scalable cloud-based data management. Experimental evaluation confirmed successful operation of all primary func- tional requirements. Future work will focus on (1) AI-driven spoilage prediction using historical sensor time-series data, (2) integration of Lo- RaWAN for long-range sensor connectivity in rural scenarios, (3) expansion of the admin analytics dashboard with demand forecasting, and (4) real-world pilot deployment with partner NGOs and food banks. This system represents a meaningful step toward a technology-enabled, sustainable food-sharing ecosystem that addresses both food waste and food insecurity at scale.

References

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Copyright

Copyright © 2026 Ms. S Bhagyashree , K. Sadguru Sai, S. Shravan Reddy , N. Vinay Goud. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.