Food Bank Platform Modernization
Industry
Nonprofit Technology
Duration
2 Years
Team Size
5+ Engineers
The Challenge
We worked with a leading nonprofit organization managing a network of food banks, faced significant technical challenges with their existing platform. The system struggled with large data imports, had poor error handling, and lacked modern architectural patterns. Additionally, the mobile application had inconsistent state management and validation issues, leading to user confusion and data integrity problems.
Key Challenges
- •Failing data import functionality for large datasets
- •Poor error handling and minimal user feedback
- •Inconsistent state management in mobile application
- •QR code generation system reliability issues
- •Outdated coding patterns making maintenance difficult
Technical Environment
- •React Native application (Web, iOS, Android)
- •Marketing website
- •Administrative platform
- •Multiple disjointed codebases
- •Legacy cloud infrastructure
Our Approach
Over a two-year engagement, we led a comprehensive modernization effort to transform the platform. Our team of 5+ engineers focused on creating scalable, maintainable solutions that would enhance user experience and system reliability.
95%
Reduction in QR code generation failures
40%
Fewer user-reported issues in mobile app
65%
Reduction in support tickets for import failures
Batch Processing System Optimization
We completely overhauled the platform's client data import functionality to handle large datasets effectively. The new system featured:
- ✓Configurable request size limits (defaulting to 100,000 bytes per chunk)
- ✓Concurrent request handling (up to 5 simultaneous requests)
- ✓Progress tracking for batch completion
- ✓Comprehensive error aggregation across all batches
- ✓Real-time feedback through a modal interface
Batch Processing
Food Pantry Management System Streamlining
Mobile App
We addressed inconsistent state management and validation issues in the React Native application:
- ✓Standardized state management with unified naming conventions
- ✓Enhanced validation for user inputs with clear, multilingual error messages
- ✓Created an enum-based system for tracking eligibility status
- ✓Implemented structured error handling for all API calls
- ✓Added retry logic for unstable network conditions
QR Code Generation System Optimization
We solved reliability issues when handling large data payloads in QR codes:
- ✓Developed automatic version calculation based on data size
- ✓Implemented graceful fallback mechanisms and capacity checking
- ✓Enhanced error correction with multiple levels
- ✓Improved finder pattern placement algorithm
- ✓Created clear error messages for capacity limits
QR System
Results & Impact
Our comprehensive modernization efforts delivered substantial improvements across all aspects of the platform:
- ✓Reduced user-reported issues by approximately 40% in the mobile application
- ✓Decreased form completion time by 25%, improving overall user efficiency
- ✓Eliminated scheduling conflicts across different time zones
- ✓Enhanced system reliability during high-traffic food distribution events
- ✓Reduced QR code generation failures by 95%
Technical achievements included:
- •Improved test coverage from 65% to 90%
- •Reduced bundle size by 15%
- •Reduced CI failures by 90%, accelerating release cycles
- •Zero downtime during implementation
- •Successfully maintained backward compatibility
- •Achieved WCAG 2.1 standards for accessibility
Varritech transformed our platform. The improvements to our data import system and mobile application have made a tremendous difference for our staff and the communities we serve. Their technical expertise and dedication to our mission were evident throughout the project.
Technologies Used
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