CerealNetwork

A decentralized, fault-tolerant platform for coordinating community food sharing locations. Cereal Network provides real-time inventory visibility for community fridges, little free pantries, and food distribution points, enabling efficient resource allocation and reducing food waste.

🎯 The Problem

Community food sharing initiatives face critical coordination challenges:

• Inefficient distribution: Donors lack visibility into what supplies are needed where
• Wasted resources: Volunteers spend time checking locations that are already stocked
• Information gaps: People in need travel to empty distribution points
• Centralized failure points: Existing solutions rely on single servers that can fail

💡 Our Solution

Cereal Network creates a resilient, community-owned coordination system that:

• Tracks real-time inventory across all connected food sharing locations
• Provides multiple access points via web app and SMS for maximum accessibility
• Uses decentralized technology to ensure system resilience and community ownership
• Implements consensus mechanisms to maintain data accuracy without central authority

🛠️ Tech Stack

Frontend

• React.js - Modern UI framework with TypeScript
• Leaflet / Mapbox GL JS - Interactive mapping
• Gun.js - P2P database synchronization

Backend & Infrastructure

• Gun.js - Decentralized graph database
• Node.js / Express - SMS webhook processing
• Twilio API - SMS gateway for low-tech access

Deployment

• Vercel / Netlify - Frontend hosting
• Railway / Heroku - Peer server deployment
• Twilio - SMS service provider

🚀 Key Features

Real-Time Map Interface

• Visual status indicators (Green/Yellow/Red) for quick assessment
• Interactive pins showing detailed inventory levels
• Live updates across all connected clients

Multi-Modal Access

• Web App: Full-featured interface for smartphones and computers
• SMS Gateway: Text-based updates for basic phones and quick reporting
• Syntax: #FRIDGE12 PRODUCE LOW or #LOCATION5 NEEDS BREAD

Decentralized Architecture

• No single point of failure - Data syncs peer-to-peer
• Community ownership - No central corporation controls the data
• Offline resilience - Local data persists during connectivity issues

Trust & Verification System

• Consensus-based validation - Multiple reports required for status changes
• User reputation scoring - Trusted users have higher voting power
• Conflict resolution - Automatic flagging of contradictory reports

📋 Installation & Setup

Prerequisites

• Node.js 16+
• npm or yarn
• Twilio account (for SMS features)