Penn State Meal Plan Optimizer

A web application that helps Penn State students analyze and optimize their campus meal plan spending through automated data collection, real-time analytics, and personalized recommendations.

Features

• Automated Data Collection: Securely fetches transaction data from Penn State's dining portal
• Spending Analytics: Real-time visualization of spending patterns and trends
• Meal Plan Optimization: Personalized recommendations for maximizing meal plan value
• Multi-User Comparison: Compare spending patterns with other users
• Discount Analysis: Track savings and identify opportunities for better value

Tech Stack

Frontend

• React
• Tailwind CSS for styling
• Recharts for data visualization
• Firebase Authentication

Backend

• Express.js server for scraping and ML endpoints
• Node.js with Puppeteer for automated data collection

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18 or higher)
• npm or yarn
• A Penn State account

Installation

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/meal-plan-optimizer.git
cd meal-plan-optimizer

2. Install dependencies

npm install

3. (Optional) Set up Firebase authentication and Firestore by creating a project in the Firebase console.

4. Create a .env file in the root directory with your Firebase config if using Firebase:

REACT_APP_FIREBASE_API_KEY=your_api_key
REACT_APP_FIREBASE_AUTH_DOMAIN=your_auth_domain
REACT_APP_FIREBASE_PROJECT_ID=your_project_id
REACT_APP_FIREBASE_STORAGE_BUCKET=your_storage_bucket
REACT_APP_FIREBASE_MESSAGING_SENDER_ID=your_sender_id
REACT_APP_FIREBASE_APP_ID=your_app_id

5. Start the development server

npm start

6. In a separate terminal, start the backend server

npm run server

Usage

1. Sign in with your Penn State credentials
2. Enter your verification code when prompted
3. Select your date range for transaction analysis
4. View your personalized spending analytics and recommendations
5. Compare your spending patterns with other users
6. Download transaction history or view detailed reports

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request

Security

• All user credentials are securely handled and never stored

• Multi-factor authentication is required for data access

• All API requests are authenticated and rate-limited

• The React and TypeScript communities

Support

For support, email mbm6898@psu.edu or open an issue in the repository.