MITRE Food Waste Tracker — iOS & Android Application
Kentech-U partnered with MITRE to design and build a proof of concept and custom mobile application aimed at reshaping how people think about—and reduce—household food waste.
Our Client
Nearly 40% of all edible food in the United States is wasted each year. To address this critical environmental and economic issue, MITRE partnered with the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic to conduct a groundbreaking household food waste study. The study enlisted a representative group of volunteers to report their actual food waste in real time.
To support this effort, the MITRE Food Waste Tracker app captures data from a Bluetooth-enabled kitchen scale and securely transmits it to MITRE through a mobile device.
The Goals
The first objective was to validate key assumptions and deliver a working proof of concept capable of accurately collecting data during the research phase. From there, the goal expanded to transforming those insights into a consumer-facing mobile app that empowers households across the country to participate in a collective solution to food waste.
Our Plan and Process
By working closely with MITRE stakeholders, we aligned operational requirements with user needs. Our team evaluated and tested multiple Bluetooth-enabled kitchen scales, assessing factors such as cost, availability, reliability, ease of use, technical documentation, and long-term feasibility.
Each device’s communication protocol was carefully analyzed through hands-on testing to identify how data was stored and transmitted. Because the solution needed to scale beyond a lab environment, we designed the system with the expectation that thousands of devices would eventually be deployed in real-world households.
The Results
During the study phase, participants were asked to log food waste consistently over a two-week period. To support this behavior, our design team focused on creating a frictionless, encouraging, and non-judgmental user experience that promoted sustained engagement.
Following the successful completion of the research phase, we developed a consumer-facing mobile application that introduces everyday users to the process of tracking and reducing food waste.
The MITRE Food Waste Tracker is now available on both iOS and Android, helping households take meaningful steps toward reducing food waste nationwide.
