Methods and systems for bulk food ordering and delivery

Abstract

System and method for bulk food ordering and delivery. The method comprising, receiving, at a bulk food management system, event information, the event information comprising event details and food vendor details, the event details comprising information identifying an event date, event location and a plurality of event guests, the food vendor details comprising information identifying a plurality of food vendors; receiving, at the bulk food management system, selection, for each of the plurality of guest, of one or more food items from the plurality of food vendors; automatically generating an electronic label for each selected food item; and sending, to each of the plurality of vendors, the generated electronic labels for the selected food items from that food vendor. Sending an electronic label for a selected food item to a food vendor may cause a labelled version of the food item to be delivered to the event location on the event date.

Description

METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR BULK FOOD ORDERING AND DELIVERYTECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The disclosed example embodiments relate to computer-implemented methods and systems for bulk food ordering and delivery, and specifically, for computer-implemented methods and systems for bulk food ordering and delivery in which food can be ordered and delivered from multiple food vendors for an event in a single order.BACKGROUND

[0002] Catering companies have been around for decades, providing services to various events such as, but not limited to, weddings, corporate events, and parties. Catering companies traditionally provide an all-in-one service where they provide food, drinks and tableware for an event and guests may be served by the catering company’s staff. Typically, an event organizer will work with an employee of the catering company to select the menu for all of the event guests, which may be fixed for all the guests or have limited options.

[0003] In recent years there has been a growing demand for online food delivery services, especially with the advent of mobile phones. Online food delivery services allow individuals to order and customize food from various vendors which is delivered to their doorstep. While online food delivery services are flexible and convenient for individual customers, they are not typically able to handle large groups of people. Furthermore, food from different vendors must be ordered in separate orders meaning there is no co-ordination from the vendors. Accordingly, known online food and delivery services are not suitable for bulk orders for events.SUMMARY

[0004] The following summary is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of the detailed description, but not to define or delimit any invention.

[0005] A first aspect provides a system for bulk food ordering and delivery comprising: a bulk food management system comprising a memory, a communication interface and at least one processor operatively coupled to the memory and the communication interface, the at least one processor configured to: receive event information, the event information comprising event details and food vendor details,the event details comprising information identifying an event date, event location and a plurality of event guests, the food vendor details comprising information identifying a plurality of food vendors; receive, for each of the plurality of event guests, a selection of one or more food items from the plurality of food vendors; automatically generate an electronic label for each selected food item; and send, to each of the plurality of vendors, the generated electronic labels for the selected food items from that food vendor; wherein sending an electronic label for a selected food item to a food vendor causes a labelled version of the food item to be delivered to the event location on the event date.

[0006] The at least one processor may be configured to, in response to receiving the event details, automatically generate a plurality recommended food vendors based on the event details, and the plurality of food vendors are selected from the plurality of recommended food vendors.

[0007] The at least one processor may be further configured to: automatically determine, for each food vendor of the plurality of food vendors, (i) a number of transportation packages to be used to transport the selected food items from that food vendor and (ii) the selected food items from the food vendor to be placed in each transportation package; and notify each food vendor of the number of transportation packages and the food items to be placed in each transportation package.

[0008] The at least one processor may be configured to notify a food vendor of the number of transportation packages and the food items to be placed in each transportation package by generating an electronic label for each transportation package and sending the electronic labels for the transportation packages and the electronic labels for the food items in a specific order in which each electronic label for a transportation package is followed by the electronic labels for the food items in that transportation package.

[0009] The at least one processor may be further configured to receive information indicating a sub-division of the plurality of event guests into a plurality of groups and the at least one processor is configured to determine, for each food vendor of the plurality of food vendors, (i) the number of transportation packages to be used to transport the selected food items from that food vendor and (ii) the selected food items from that food vendor to be placed in each transportation package so that fooditems corresponding to event guests in a same group are in a same transportation package.

[0010] Each event guest of the plurality of event guests may be associated with a sub-location of a plurality of sub-locations of the event location, and each of the plurality of groups may comprise events guests associated with a same sub-location.

[0011] The electronic label for a selected food item may comprise information identifying the food item and the corresponding event guest.

[0012] The at least one processor may be further configured to: receive, for an event guest of the plurality of event guests, information identifying one or more food allergies and / or dietary restrictions; and determine, for each food item offered by the plurality of food vendors, whether the food item is in conflict with the one or more food allergies and / or dietary restrictions.

[0013] The least one processor may be configured to receive, for each food item offered by the plurality of food vendors, a set of one or more ingredients forming that food item and the at least one processor may be configured to determine whether a food item is in conflict with the one or more food allergies and / or dietary restrictions by comparing the set of one or more food ingredients to the one or more food allergies and / or dietary restrictions.

[0014] The at least one processor may be configured to, in response to determining that a food item is in conflict with the one or more food allergies and / or dietary restrictions, prohibit the selection of that food item for the event guest.

[0015] The at least one processor may be configured to, in response to determining that a selected food item is in conflict with the one or more food allergies and / or dietary restrictions, query the event guest to determine whether the selection of that food item is valid.

[0016] The electronic label for each food item selected by the event guest may comprise information identifying the one or more food allergies and / or dietary restrictions.

[0017] The at least one processor is configured to, in response to receiving the event information, provide information identifying the event to each event guest of the plurality of event guests, the information identifying the event enabling each eventguest to provide the selection of the one or more food items from the plurality of food vendors to the at least one processor.

[0018] The at least one processor may be configured to provide the information identifying the event to each event guest of the plurality of event guests by sending the information identifying the event to an event organizer which causes the event organizer to send the information identifying the event to each event guest of the plurality of event guests.

[0019] The at least one processor may be configured to provide the information identifying the event to each event guest of the plurality of event guests by sending the information identifying the event to each event guest of the plurality of event guests.

[0020] The information identifying the event may comprise a machine-readable code with an embedded link or the information identifying the event may be a link.

[0021] The at least one processor may be configured to receive, for an event guest, a customization of a selected food item, and the electronic label for that food item comprises information identifying the customization.

[0022] The at least one processor may be configured to: receive from a food vendor of the plurality of food vendors a notification that the food items identified in the received electronic labels are ready for delivery; and in response to receiving the notification, cause a delivery service to pick-up the labelled versions of the food items and deliver the labelled versions of the food items to the event location.

[0023] A second aspect provides a method for bulk food ordering and delivery, the method executed in a computing environment comprising at least one processor, a communication interface, and memory, and the method comprising: receiving event information, the event information comprising event details and food vendor details, the event details comprising information identifying an event date, event location and a plurality of event guests, the food vendor details comprising information identifying a plurality of food vendors; receiving, for each of the plurality of event guests, a selection of one or more food items from the plurality of food vendors; automatically generating an electronic label for each selected food item; and sending, to each of the plurality of vendors, the generated electronic labels for the selected food items from that food vendor; wherein sending an electronic label fora selected food item to a foodvendor causes a labelled version of the food item to be delivered to the event location on the event date.

[0024] According to some aspects, the present disclosure provides a non- transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions. The computer-executable instructions, when executed, configure a processor to perform any of the methods described herein.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] The drawings included herewith are for illustrating various examples of articles, methods, and systems of the present specification and are not intended to limit the scope of what is taught in any way. In the drawings:FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example system for bulk food ordering and delivery for an event;FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an example product information sheet for an example food item;FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an example graphical user interface for an event guest (or a representative thereof) to sign into a bulk food management system;FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an example graphical user interface for an event guest (or a representative thereof) to create a new account in the bulk food management system;FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an example graphical user interface for adding an event guest (e.g., child) to a bulk food management system account;FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the example graphical user interface of FIG.5 after an event guest (e.g., child) has been added to an example bulk food management system account;FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an example graphical user interface for identifying an event guest’s allergies;FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of an example graphical user interface for selecting a food item for an event;FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of an example graphical user interface for displaying more information about a selected food item;FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of an example graphical user interface for displaying a list of currently selected food items;FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of an example graphical user interface for displaying a summary of an order for food items for one or more events;FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of an example graphical user interface for submitting payment information for an order for food items for one or more events;FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of the example graphical user interface of FIG. 8 in which food items that conflict with an event guest’s allergies are identified as such;FIG. 14 is a flow diagram of an example method for bulk food ordering and delivery for an event; andFIG. 15 is a block diagram of an example computer which may be used to implement all or a portion of the system of FIG. 1 and / or execute all or a portion of the method of FIG. 14.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] As described above, known catering companies and online food delivery services are not suitable for online bulk food ordering and delivery. Specifically, they lack event guest customization and / or are unable to handle larger events. There is therefore a need for an online bulk food ordering and delivery system that addresses one or more of these deficiencies.

[0027] Accordingly, described herein are methods and system for bulk food ordering and delivery for an event in which event guests can order, and customize or personalize, food from one or more of a plurality of food vendors. Specifically, the systems described herein comprise a bulk food management system, implemented by one or more computers. The bulk food management system is configured to receive information identifying an event from an event organizer, the information identifying the event comprising event details that identify the date of the event, the location of the event and a plurality of guests, and vendor details that identify a plurality of food vendors; receive a selection from each of the plurality of guests of one or more food items from one or more of the plurality of food vendors; and prior to the event, automatically generate a food label for each ordered food item, and provide each food vendor of the plurality food vendors with a set of food labels that correspond to food items to be prepared by that vendor. Each food label comprises at least informationidentifying the corresponding food item and the event guest that ordered that food item. Upon receiving a set of food labels, a food vendor prepares the food items and affixes the food labels to the prepared food items. The prepared food items (with their corresponding food labels affixed thereto) are then delivered to the identified event location where they can be distributed to the event guests.

[0028] Reference is now made to FIG. 1 which shows a block diagram of an example system 100 for bulk food ordering and delivery in which event guests can order, and customize or personalize, food items from a plurality of food vendors. The example system 100 of FIG. 1 comprise a bulk food management system 102 that may be implemented by one or more computers, such as the computer 1500 described with respect to FIG. 15. The bulk food management system 102 acts as an intermediary between an event organizer 104, a plurality of event guests 106, 108 and a plurality of food vendors 110, 112 to allow the event organizer 104 to schedule an event in which the plurality of food vendors 110, 112 provide food items to the events guests 106, 108 on an individualized event guest basis. In other words, the bulk food management system 102 allows the event organizer 104 to organize large events (e.g. events with greater than or equal to 25 event guests) where food items are provided from multiple food vendors 110, 112 and can be customized on an individual guest basis.

[0029] In the example shown in FIG. 1 the bulk food management system 102 comprises an event module 114 configured to receive and store information forevents, a guest module 116 configured to receive and store event guest food item orders, and a food vendor module 118 configured to interact with food vendors to enable food vendors associated with an event to provide food items to the event. The bulk food management system 102 may also, in some cases, comprise a financial module 120 which enables an event organizer and / or an event guest to pay for ordered food items. However, in other examples, one or more of the modules may be combined. One or more the modules 114, 116, 118, 120 may be implemented in software (e.g., via computer readable code).

[0030] The bulk food management system 102 (e.g., event module 114) is configured to receive information identifying a new event from the event organizer 104. In some cases, the event organizer 104 may interact with the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., the event module 114) via a computing device 122, such as but notlimited to, a mobile device (e.g., mobile phone or tablet), laptop computer, desktop computer, etc., that is operatively connected (e.g., via a communication network) to the bulk food management system 102. In some cases, the event organizer 104 may be able to interact with the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., the event module 114) using their computing device 122 via a user interface (e.g., a graphical user interface (GUI)). In some cases, the user interface may be provided by a website hosted by the bulk food management system 102 or another computer that is operatively connected to the bulk food management system 102. In such cases, the event organizer 104 may access the user interface via a web browser running on their computing device 122. In other cases, the user interface may be provided by an application (e.g., mobile device “app”) that is executed on their computing device 122 wherein the application is in communication with the bulk food management system 102.

[0031] The information identifying the event may comprise event details and vendor details. The event details comprise information such as, but not limited to the date and time of the event, the location of the event, the number of event guests, the budget for the event and / or demographics of the event guests such as, but not limited to, the age range, cultural background and / or gender of the event guests. The vendor details identify a plurality of food vendors, of the supported food vendors 124, that are to provide food items for the event. The supported food vendors 124 may be food vendors that have been verified or validated based on one or more criteria (e.g., based on meeting health regulations as described below).

[0032] In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., event module 114) may be configured to first receive the event details from the event organizer 104 and then the event organizer 104 may be able to select a plurality of food vendors from the supported food vendors 124. As described above, in some cases the event organizer 104 may be able to interact with the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., event module 114) via a user interface (e.g., a graphical user interface (GUI)). In some cases, the user interface may allow the event organizer 104 to filter the list of supported food vendors 124 based on one or more criteria such as, but not limited to, geographic proximity to the event location, type of food, etc.

[0033] In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., event module 114) may be configured to provide details about a food vendor to the eventorganizer 104 upon request. For example, if the event organizer 104 has obtained a list of possible food vendors in the user interface by applying one or more filters to the list of supported food vendors 126, the event organizer 104 may be able to obtain details about a possible food vendor by clicking on or otherwise activating that food vendor in the list of possible food vendors. In response to the event organizer 104 clicking on or otherwise activating a possible food vendor, the bulk food management system 102 may be configured to present to the user (e.g., via the user interface) with a food vendor profile 126. The food vendor profile 126 may include information such as, but not limited to, the food vendor’s menu, pricing options, location, and / or reviews from previous customers. The food vendor profile 126 is designed to allow the event organizer 104 to make an informed decision when selecting food vendors for the event.

[0034] In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., event module 114) may be configured to, in response to receiving the event details, automatically generate a list of one or more recommended food vendors of the supported food vendors 124 based on the event details. The bulk food management system 102 may be configured to generate the list of one or more recommended food vendors using a set of criteria that considers, for example, the event’s requirements, the food vendors’ availability, and the food vendors’ location with respect to the event location. For example, where the event details indicate that there is a limited budget for the event, the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., event module 114) may be configured to generate a list of food vendors of the supported food vendors 124 that offer affordable food items while still meeting the event’s other requirements (e.g., date, time, location, number of guests etc.). In another example, where the event details indicate that there are specific dietary restrictions, such as, but not limited to one or more event guests are vegan, the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., event module 114) may be configured to generate a list of food vendors of the supported food vendors 124 that can provide vegan food items while still meeting the event’s other requirements (e.g., data, time, location, number of guests etc.).

[0035] In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., event module 114) may be configured to recommend food vendors that are within a predetermined distance (or time) from the event to ensure that food items (particularly hot food items) can be delivered to the event venue while they are still fresh. In somecases, the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., event module 114) may be configured to estimate the time to travel between a food vendor location and the event location based on predicted traffic patterns between the two locations at the event date and time.

[0036] Once the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., event module 114) has generated a list of one or more recommended food vendors the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., event module 114) may present the list to the event organizer 104 (e.g., via the user interface). The event organizer 104 may then be able to select one or more of the recommended food vendors and / or one or more of the other supported food vendors. Providing a list of recommended food vendors that meet the needs of the event may make the process of finding the right food vendors more efficient in terms of time and computing resources as time and resources are not wasted manually searching for food vendors that meet the event’s requirements.

[0037] In some cases, the event organizer 104 may only be able to select a food vendor for an event that has the capacity to provide food items for the event. Specifically, in some cases the bulk food management system 102 may receive (or generate) information for each food vendor that specifies their capacity (e.g., how many food items they can prepare) on, for example, a daily basis and / or an hourly basis and the bulk food management system 102 may be configured to track each food vendor’s free capacity. In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 may be configured to assume that each selected food vendor for an event will receive an equal number of the food items for the event, thus the bulk food management system 102 may determine whether the food vendor has capacity to provide food items to the event if it has the capacity at the required time (e.g. a certain time before the event) to provide 1 / X of the total food items wherein X is the number of selected food vendors. If the bulk food management system 102 determines that a food vendor has the capacity for the event, the bulk food management system 102 may be configured to reserve that capacity (e.g., 1 / X of the total food items) at each selected food vendor for the event. If, however, the bulk food management system 102 determines that a food vendor does not have the capacity for the event, the bulk food management system 102 may not allow the event organizer 104 to select that food vendor for the event. In some cases, a food vendor may not appear in the list of recommended food vendors if they do not have the free capacity for the event.

[0038] In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 may require that the event organizer 104 have an event organizer account with the bulk food management system 102 before they can provide the information about an event (e.g., event details and food vendor details) to the bulk food management system 102. In such cases, when an event organizer 104 first accesses the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., the event module 114) they may be asked to login to their event organizer account and if they do not have an event organizer account, the event organizer may be asked to generate an event organizer account. The event organizer account may be used to store basic information about the event organizer such as but not limited to contact details, and details about each event the event organizer has created or scheduled. Once an event organizer has created an event organizer account, the event account organizer can use the same account to create multiple events.

[0039] In some cases, once the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., event module 114) has received the information for the event (i.e. , the event details and the food vendor details) the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., financial module 120) may be configured to request payment from the event organizer 104 to finalize the event. In such cases, the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., financial module) may be configured to present (e.g., via the user interface) a mechanism to provide financial details (e.g., bank account details or credit card details) which can be used to make the payment. Once the event organizer has provided their financial details the bulk food management system (e.g., financial module 120) may be configured to make the payment using the provided payment or financial details. In other cases, the individual event guests may be responsible for paying for the food items that they order. In such cases, the financial module 120 may not be invoked at this time. In some cases, the event organizer 104 may be able to specify whether it will be the event organizer or the event guests that will be paying for the food items.

[0040] Once the bulk food management system 102 has received the information for the event (i.e., the event details and the food vendor details), and optionally payment for the event, the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., guest module 116) is ready to receive food item orders for the plurality of event guests 106, 108. In some cases, an event guest 106, 108 (or a person associated with the event guest such as, but not limited to a parent of the event guest) may interact with the bulkfood management system 102 (e.g. guest module 116) to, for example, select food items for the event via a computing device 128, 130, such as, but not limited to, a mobile device (e.g., mobile phone or tablet), laptop computer, desktop computer, etc., that is operatively connected (e.g., via a communication network such as, but not limited to, the Internet) to the bulk food management system 102. In some cases, an event guest 106, 108 may be able to interact with the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., guest module 116) using their computing device 128, 130 via a user interface (e.g., a graphical user interface (GUI)). In some cases, the user interface may be provided by a website hosted by the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., guest module 116) or another computer that is operatively connected to the bulk food management system 102. In such cases, the event guest 106, 108 may access the user interface via a web browser running on their computing device 128, 130. The website the event guests 106, 108 use to interact with the bulk food management system 102 may be the same as or different than the website the event organizer 104 uses to interact with the bulk food management system 102. In other cases, the user interface may be provided by an application that is executed on the event guest’s computing device 128, 130 wherein the application is in communication with the bulk food management system 102.

[0041] In some cases, once the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., guest module 116) has received the information for the event (i.e., the event details and the food vendor details) the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., event module 114) may be configured to send information to the event organizer 104 that identifies the event. In some cases, the information identifying the event may be a machine- readable code, such as, but not limited to, a QR (quick response) code or another barcode that is unique to the event, a link to the event in the bulk food management system 102, or a unique code for the event. In such cases, the event organizer 104 may be configured to provide the information identifying the event to each of the plurality of event guests 106, 108 and the event guests 106, 108 can use the information identifying the event to access the event and order items from the plurality of food vendors selected for the event. For example, the event organizer 104 may send an email to each of the guests with the information identifying the event.

[0042] In some cases, the information identifying the event may be provided to the event organizer 104 as part of a confirmation message. In such cases, theconfirmation message may include the information identifying the event and other information about the event such as, but not limited to, the date and time of the event, the food vendors selected for the event etc.

[0043] In some cases, the information identifying the event (and / or the confirmation message) may be sent to the event organizer 104 by email. In other examples, the information identifying the event (and / or the confirmation message) may be sent to the event organizer 104 via a messaging application or via the application that is in communication with the bulk food management system 102. However, these are examples only and the information identifying the event (and / or the confirmation message) may be sent to the event organizer 104 via any suitable means.

[0044] In some cases, in addition to the event organizer providing the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., event module 114) with the number of event guests the event organizer may also provide contact information (e.g., an email address and / or cell phone number) for each event guest. In these cases, the bulk food management system 102 may be configured to, in addition or alternatively to sending, information identifying the event to the event organizer 104, automatically send information identifying the event directly to each of the event guests 106, 108 (e.g., via their computing devices 128, 130). In such cases, each event guest 106, 108 may be provided with information identifying the event that is unique to that event guest 106, 108. For example, each event guest 106, 108 may be provided with a unique machine- readable code (e.g., QR code) or with a unique link (e.g., URL). In such cases, the event organizer 104 does not have to manually provide the information identifying the event to each event guest which may save significant time and computing resources for the event organizer 104. Providing the event guests with information identifying the event (either by sending the information to the event organizer 104 or the event guests directly) helps ensures the privacy and security of the event as only authorized guests are provided with the information identifying the event.

[0045] Once an event guest has received information identifying the event (e.g., a machine-readable code (e.g., QR code with an embedded link (e.g., URL)) or link (e.g., URL)) from the event organizer 104 or the bulk food management system 102, the event guest 106, 108 can use that information to access the event in the bulk food management system 102. How an event guest 106, 108 access the event in the bulk food management system 102 using the information identifying the event will dependon the type of information identifying the event. For example, where the information identifying the event is a link (e.g., URL) or a machine-readable code that comprises an embedded link (e.g., URL) then the event guest 106, 108 may access the event in the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., via the guest module 116) by clicking on or otherwise activating the link. Where, however, the information identifying the event is a unique code, the event guest 106, 108 may access a website or an application associated with the bulk food management system 102 and enter the code therein.

[0046] Once an event guest 106, 108 (or a representative thereof) has accessed the event in the bulk food management system 102 the event guest 106, 108 can select food items from the plurality of food vendors selected for the event. For example, in some cases, when the event guest 106, 108 accesses the event in the bulk food management system 102 using the information identifying the event, the event guest 106, 108 may be presented (e.g., by the guest module 116) with a user interface (e.g., in the form of an order form) which allows the event guest (or a representative thereof) to select one or more food items from the plurality of vendors selected for the event. In some cases, the user interface presented to an event guest 106, 108 may identify each of the plurality of food vendors selected for the event, and the food items that are available from each of the plurality of food vendors selected for the event. The event guest 106, 108 can then select one or more of the available food items for the event.

[0047] In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., the guest module 116) may be configured to provide the event guest 106, 108 with additional information about an available food item in response to the event guest 106, 108 indicating that they wish to view more information about a food item. In some cases, the additional information may be presented as a product information sheet which comprises information such as a description of the food item and / or ingredients in the food item. This additional information may allow the event guest to make a more informed decision about which food item(s) will be most suitable for them or for the event. FIG. 2 illustrates an example product information sheet which may be presented to an event guest 106, 108.

[0048] In some cases, there may be a limit on the number and / or type of food items that an event guest 106, 108 can select (which may be specified by the event organizer 104). For example, an event guest 106, 108 may only be able to select onefood item, or an event guest 106, 108 may only be able to select one main food item and one desert food item. In such cases, the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., guest module 116) may be configured to disable one or more of the food items as options once the maximum has been reached. For example, when an event guest 106, 108 may only select one main food item and one desert food item, the bulk food management system 102 may be configured to disable (e.g., grey out) all of the main food items from selection once a main food item has been selected.

[0049] In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., the food vendor module 118) is configured to receive information from one or more of the food vendors indicating their maximum capacity (e.g., maximum number of food items they can make). This information may be stored by the food vendor module 118 as schedule data. A food vendor may be able to specify their maximum capacity on, for example, a daily basis or on an hourly basis. On a day that a food vendor is not open they may set their capacity to zero. In these cases, the bulk food management system (e.g., guest module 116) may be configured to monitor the food items selected for each food vendor (both for the current event and other events) and if the bulk food management system (e.g., guest module 116) detects that the food vendor has reached their maximum capacity for the time frame related to the event, then the bulk food management system (e.g., guest module 116) may be configured to disable that food vendor as an option for any event guests that have not yet submitted their food item selections.

[0050] For example, a food vendor A has specified that they can handle a maximum of 100 orders per hour and an event organizer sets up an event in which the food items are to be delivered at 12:00PM. If there are 300 guests and the first 100 guests order food items from food vendor A then the food vendor A has reached its capacity for the hour preceding 12:00PM, and the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., guest module 116) may be configured to disable food items from food vendor A for the remaining 200 events guests since food vendor A cannot handle any more orders in that timeframe. Accordingly, the remaining 200 guests may have to select food items from a different food vendor.

[0051] In other cases, instead of dynamically determining the maximum number of food items that can be ordered from a food vendor for an event by monitoring the number of food items that have been ordered from that food vendor across events, themaximum number of food items that can be ordered from a food vendor for an event may be determined in advance based on the number of selected food vendors and the number of event guests. Specifically, in some cases, when the event organizer 104 books an event (e.g., by providing the event details) the bulk food management system 102 may assume that each selected food vendor for the event will receive an equal amount of the food orders, thus the bulk food management system 102 may determine whether the food vendor has capacity to provide food items to the event if it has the capacity at the required time (e.g. a certain time before the event) to provide 1 / X of the total food items wherein X is the number of selected food vendors. If so, the bulk food management system 102 may be configured to reserve that capacity at each selected food vendor for the event. In these cases, the bulk food management system may be configured to monitor the food items selected for each food vendor for the current event and if the bulk food management system (e.g., guest module 116) detects that the food vendor has reached their maximum capacity for the event (e.g., 1 / X of the total food items), then the bulk food management system (e.g., guest module 116) may be configured to disable that food vendor as an option for any event guests that have not yet submitted their food item selections.

[0052] In some cases, event guests 106, 108 may be able to customize or personalize their selected food items. For example, an event guest 106, 108 may be able to remove ingredients that are not consistent with their dietary restrictions, preferences and / or allergies. For example, if an event guest 106, 108 doesn’t like onions, the event guest 106, 108 may be able to indicate that the selected food item is not to have any onions.

[0053] In some cases, the event guests 106, 108 may have a limited time before the event to select food items for the event. For example, to ensure that the food vendors 110, 112 have sufficient time to prepare all the food items for the event, the event guests 106, 108 may be provided with a deadline before the event to submit or edit their food item selections. After this deadline an event guest 106, 108 cannot submit their food item selections or make any changes to their food item selections. For example, in some cases the deadline for submitted or editing a food item order may be 48 hours before the event. This is an example only and in other examples, different deadlines may be used. In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., guest module 116) may be configured to, if an event guest 106, 108, hasnot submitted their food item selections a predetermined period of time (e.g., 1 day) before the submission deadline, send a reminder to the event organizer 104 and / or the event guest 106, 108.

[0054] Where the event guest is responsible for paying for the selected food items, once the selected food items have been finalized, the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., financial module 120) may be configured to present (e.g., via the user interface) a mechanism to provide payment or financial details (e.g., bank account details or credit card details) which can be used to make the payment. Once the event guest has provided their financial details the bulk food management system (e.g., financial module 120) may be configured to make the payment using the provided financial details.

[0055] The bulk food management system 102 (e.g., food vendor module 118) is configured to, prior to the event (and after the deadline for the event guests to submit their food orders), automatically generate an electronic label for each food item ordered by an event guest 106, 108 and provide each food vendor of the plurality of food vendors selected for the event with the electronic labels for the food items to be prepared by that food vendor. The electronic label for a food item comprises information identifying the food item and the event guest that ordered the food item. As described in more detail below, in some cases, the electronic label for a food item may also comprise additional information. For example, where the user has customized or personalized a food item the electronic label may also comprise information indicating the customization. The electronic food labels may be sized and configured such that they can be used to generate physical food labels which can be affixed to the corresponding food item. In some cases, each electronic label may be a PDF, Microsoft™ Word™ or Microsoft™ Excel™ file.

[0056] In some cases, a food vendor 110, 112 may be configured to obtain their electronic labels via a computing device 132, 134 associated with the food vendor 110, 112. The computing device 132, 134 may be any suitable computing device such as, but not limited, to a mobile device (e.g., a mobile phone or tablet), a laptop or a desktop. In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., food vendor module) may be configured to send the electronic labels by email. In other cases, the electronic labels may be stored on the bulk food management system 102 and thefood vendor 110, 112 may be sent a notification that the electronic labels are available for download from the bulk food management system.

[0057] In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., food vendor) may be configured to generate a single electronic file for each of the plurality of food vendors selected for the event that comprises the electronic labels for that food vendor 110, 112; and provide the single electronic file to each food vendor 110, 112. This may allow the food vendors to generate all the physical labels from the single file - e.g., by printing the file. In some cases, the single electronic file may be a PDF, Microsoft™ Word™ or Microsoft™ Excel™ file. However, these are just examples, and the single electronic file may be in any suitable digital format.

[0058] Each food vendor 110, 112 is configured to, prior to the event date and time, prepare the food items identified in the received electronic labels; generate physical labels from the received electronic labels; affix the physical labels to the prepared food items (or containers in which the individual food items are placed in); and pack the labelled food items for delivery. Labelling the food items helps ensure that the food items are correctly distributed to the event guests 106, 108 so that each event guest 106, 108 receives their preferred food items.

[0059] In some cases, the packing the labelled food items for delivery may comprise placing the labelled food items in one or more special transportation packages (e.g., an insulated and heated bag) to ensure the food stays fresh until it is delivered to the event location. In some cases, the transportation packages may comprise a heating element (e.g., an integrated heater or a hot plate) which can be selectively enabled and / or in which the temperature thereof can be controlled. The heating element may be a battery-operated heating element or plug-in heating element. In some cases, the transportation packages may be designed with a dry heat system and lined with carboard to optimize efficiency and maintain a consistent temperature. This can prevent the food items from becoming soggy. Where the transportation packages comprise a heating element that can be selectively enabled, the food vendors may be trained to leave the heating elements of such transportation bags enabled (e.g., plugged in and / or turned on) until the food items therein are ready to be shipped out and delivered.

[0060] Once a food vendor has prepared, labelled and packed the food items for an event for delivery, the food vendor 110, 112 may notify (via a computing device 132, 134) the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., food vendor module) that the food items forthe event are ready for delivery. In some cases, in response to receiving a ready for delivery notification from a food vendor 110, 112, the bulk food management system 102 may be configured send a message to the event organizer 104 (e.g., via email or another message system) notifying them that the food items from the food vendor 110, 112 are ready for pickup and delivery. In some cases, in response to receiving a ready for delivery notification from a food vendor 110, 112, the bulk food management system 102 may also, or alternatively, send a message to a delivery service to pick up the food items 136, 138 from the food vendor 110, 112 and deliver them to the event location 140 or venue. In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 may be configured to identify an optimum pick-up time and delivery route based on current traffic-related data such as, but not limited to, GPS (global positioning system)-based traffic data and / or the current weather, and the bulk food management system 102 may be configured to provide this information to the delivery service.

[0061] In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 may be configured to track the order and delivery of the food items to the event location 140 and send notifications to the event organizer 104 based on the tracking.Allergy Tracking and Management

[0062] In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 may be configured receive information about event guests’ allergies and / or other dietary requirements and assist the event guests in selecting meals that do not conflict with their allergies and / or other dietary requirements. In particular, in some cases, once an event guest 106, 108 has accessed the event in the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., using the information identifying the event received from the event organizer 104 or the bulk food management system 102), the event guest may be able to provide (via the user interface) information to the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., guest module 116) on any allergies or dietary restrictions that the event guest 106, 108 has. For example, the event guest 106, 108 may be able to specify (e.g., via the user interface) that they are allergic to peanuts and that they are vegan.

[0063] Then, when the event guest 106, 108 accesses the event in the bulk food management system 102, the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., guest module 116) may be configured to automatically determine which available food items contradict or conflict with, the event guest’s allergies and / or other dietary restrictions. For example, if the event guest 106, 108 has indicated that they are allergic to peanuts, then the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., guest module 116) may identify a conflict if an available food item contains peanuts. If the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., guest module 116) identifies a conflict been a selected food item and the event guest’s allergies and / or other dietary restrictions the bulk food management system 102 may be configured to flag the conflict the event guest 106, 108 of the conflict. For example, the, bulk food management system 102 may be configured to include a warning message alongside any conflicting food item that the food item conflicts with the event guest’s allergies or other dietary restrictions. In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 may be configured to not allow an event guest to select a food item that conflicts with an allergy or other dietary restriction (e.g., by disabling or greying out the food item). In other cases, the bulk food management system 102 may be configured to allow an event guest to select a food item that conflicts with an allergy or other dietary restrictions but may ask the event guest to confirm that they wish to proceed with the selected food item even in light of the detected conflict. In other words, the bulk food management system 102 may allow the event guest 106, 108 to override the identified conflict. Automatically detecting conflicts with an event guest’s allergies and / or other dietary requirement can prevent possible mishaps at the event and ensures that all event guests’ dietary requirements are met.

[0064] In some cases, the bulkfood management system 102 (e.g., food vendor module 118) may be configured to receive, from each food vendor, a list of the ingredients in each food item offered by that food vendor. In these cases, the bulk food management system 102 may be configured to determine that a selected food item is in conflict with the event guest’s allergies by comparing the ingredients of the selected food item against the guest’s specified allergies and / or dietary restrictions. In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., guest module 116) may be configured to identify allergens in individual wet and dry ingredients in recipes, allowing for more precise detection and notification. This may allow for thecustomization of allergen identification beyond general categories, ensuring detailed tracking such as specific spices or minor ingredients. In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 may be configured to identify a conflict by using natural language processing techniques to scan and analyze the ingredients for a food item.

[0065] In some cases, when an event guest 106, 108 specifies an allergy or other dietary restriction, the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., food vendor module 118) may be configured to notify each food vendor associated with a food item selected by that event guest of the event guest’s allergies and / or dietary requirements to ensure that any food items prepared for that event guest are prepared in accordance with their allergies and / or dietary requirements. For example, if an event guest with an allergy orders, for an event, food item A from vendor 1 and food item B from vendor 2 then the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., food vendor module 118) may be configured to notify both vendor 1 and vendor 2 of the event guest’s allergy. In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., food vendor module 118) may be configured to notify a food vendor of an event guest’s allergy or other dietary restrictions by adding information to the corresponding electronic food label about the event guest’s allergies and / or dietary requirements and / or sending the food vendor a different document or different message indicating the allergies and / or dietary requirements.

[0066] In some cases, an event guest 106, 108 may be able to set up a profile or account with the bulk food management system 102 which may be used each time the event guest is invited to an event that is managed by the bulk food management system 102. In such cases, an event guest 106, 108 may be able to store their allergy and / or dietary restriction information in their profile. This means that an event guest 106, 108 may only provide their allergy and / or dietary restriction information to the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., guest module 116) once and that information can be used for multiple events.Labels

[0067] As described above, the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., food vendor module 118) is configured to (i) generate an electronic label for each food item ordered or selected by an event guest 106, 108, and (ii) send, to each food vendor 110, 112, the electronic food labels associated with the food items from that foodvendor. The electronic food labels received by a food vendor 110, 112 may be used to (i) determine which food items to prepare and / or (ii) generate physical labels which are applied to the prepared food items (or to containers comprising the individual food items).

[0068] In some cases, each food vendor may place the labelled and prepared food items in transportation packages (e.g., heated insulated bag or boxes) for transportation to the event location. The transportation packages are generally larger than the individual food item containers so that each transportation package can generally comprise more than one food item container. In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 may be configured to receive from each food vendor information indicating the size of each food item container and automatically determine, for each food vendor, the number of transportation packages that are to be used to transport the food items from the food vendor and which food items are to be placed in each transportation package (e.g., heated and insulated bag or box).

[0069] In such cases, in addition to generating an electronic label for each food item ordered by an event guest 106, 108 the bulk food management system 102 may also be configured to (i) generate, for each food vendor, an electronic label for each transportation package to be used by that food vendor, and (ii) send each food vendor the corresponding transportation package electronic labels. The electronic labels for the transportation packages may be used by the food vendors to (i) determine how to pack the labelled and prepared food items in the transportation packages, and / or (ii) generate physical labels for the transportation packages which can be affixed to the transportation packages. The electronic label for a transportation package may, for example, comprise information identifying the event (e.g., event name or location), the number of food items in the transportation package and / or the specific food items in the transportation package. The electronic label for a transportation package may also comprise information indicating any allergy or dietary restrictions of the event guests whose food items are in the transportation package.

[0070] In some cases, the bulkfood management system 102 (e.g., food vendor module 118) may be configured to send the electronic labels for the food items and transportation packages to each food vendor 110, 112 in a specific order to enable efficient packing of the food items in the transportation packages. For example, in some cases, the bulk food management system 102 may be configured to order theelectronic labels such that the electronic labels for a food vendor start with a transportation package label followed by the labels for the food items in the transportation package, then the next transportation package label followed by the labels for the food items in that transportation package and so on. In some cases, instead of sending all of the electronic labels (food item and transportation package electronic labels) for a food vendor individually in the desired order, all of the electronic labels for a food vendor may be placed in a single electronic file in the desired order and the single electronic file may be sent to the food vendor 110, 112. As described above, this can make it easier for food vendors to generate all the physical labels - e.g., they may be generated by printing the single file.

[0071] In some cases, different food items for an event may be sent to different places within the event location, which may be referred to herein as sub-locations. For example, the event guests may be split into different rooms of the event venue or location. In such cases, the event organizer 104 may be able indicate to the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., event module), via, for example, the user interface that there are multiple delivery locations within the event location and the event organizer 104 or the event guests 106, 108 may be able to indicate which of the multiple delivery locations each event guest is associated with. In these cases, the bulk food management system 102 may be configured to determine, for each food vendor, the number of transportation packages that are to be used to transport the food items from the food vendor and which food items are to be placed in each transportation package (e.g., heated and insulated bag or box) based on the selected food items, the packaging of the food items and the sub-locations. Specifically, the bulk food management system 102 may be configured to ideally place food items that are to be delivered to the same sub-location in the same transportation package.

[0072] In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., food vendor module 118) may be configured to only place food items that are to be delivered to the same sub-location in the same transportation package such that each transportation package relates to only a single sub-location. However, in other cases, to reduce the number of transportation packages, food items for different sub-locations may be placed in the same transportation package. In such cases, the bulk food management system 102 (e.g. food vendor module 118) may be configured to (1 ) order the electronic labels of the food items in a transportation package such that the electroniclabels for food items in each sub-location are grouped together; and (2) generate an extra placeholder electronic label, which may be referred to as a divider split label, in the sequence of labels between groups that indicates to the food vendor that a physical divider is to be placed at that point to separate the food items associated with different food locations. For example, if a transportation package is to comprise food items associated with sub-location A and sub-location B then the electronic label for the transportation package may specify that it has food items for sub-locations A and B, and then it may be followed by (a) the electronic labels for the food items for sublocation A, (b) a dummy electronic label (or other indicator) indicating a divider is to be placed after the previous group of food items, and (c) the electronic labels for the food items for sub-location B.

[0073] In some cases, in addition to, or alternative to, being able to support multiple sub-locations within an event location, the bulk food management system 102 may allow event organizers to manually specify how food items are to be grouped. Specifically, even if a set of food items are to be delivered to the same sub-location (or there is only one location) the event organizer 104 may be able to specify a subgrouping within those food items. For example, the event organizer may be able to specify that the lunch food items associated with Mrs. Smith’s kindergarten class are to be sub-divided into groups based on whether the food item is associated with a JK or SK student (e.g., the food items associated with JK students should be grouped together, and the food items associated with SK students should be grouped together). In such cases, the bulk food management system 102 (e.g. food vendor module 118) may be configured to determine, for each food vendor, the number of transportation packages that are to be used to transport the food items from the food vendor 110, 112 and which food items are to be placed in each transportation package (e.g., heated and insulated bag or box) based on the selected food items, the containers for the food items, and the grouping of food items specified by the event organizer 104.

[0074] In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 may support different delivery times for different groups. For example, the event organizer 104 may be able to specify that one group is to have their food items delivered at noon and another group may have theirfood items delivered at 1 :00pm. In such cases, the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., food vendor module 118) may be configured to ensure that only food items that relate to groups that have the same delivery time areincluded in the same transportation package. For example, if the event guests are divided into three groups - A, B and C - wherein the food items for groups A and B are to be delivered at 2pm and the food items for group C are to be delivered at 3pm, then food items related to groups A and B may be in the same transportation package, but food items related to groups A and C cannot be in the same transportation package.

[0075] In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 (e.g. food vendor module 118) may comprise an artificial intelligence module (not shown) that is configured to determine, for each food vendor 110, 112, the number of transportation packages that are to be used to transport the food items from the food vendor and which food items are to be placed in each transportation package (e.g., heated and insulated bag or box) based on the selected food items, the container size of the food items, and any grouping of food items specified by the event organizer (and optionally the sub-locations). The bulk food management system 102 may be configured to, where a transportation package comprises food items that relate to multiple groups cause the food vendor to insert a physical divider between the food items that relate to different groups as described above with respect to a transportation package that comprises food items that relate to multiple sub-locations.

[0076] In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 may be configured to associate each transportation package used for an event with a unique identifier (e.g., unique number) and the label for each transportation package may comprise the unique identifier. The identifiers may be unique across food vendors such that no two transportation packages associated with the same event have the same identifier. In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 may be configured to send a message, prior to the event (e.g., on the date of the event), to each event guest indicating the unique identifier associated with each transportation package that comprises a food item ordered by that event guest so that the event guest can locate their food items at the event. For example, if each transportation package is assigned a number, the bulk food management system 102 may be configured to send an event guest a message indicating that their food item is in package 1 which allows the event guest to retrieve their food item from package 1. Since in these cases the event guests know where to obtain their food items, the event may not require any humans to distribute the food items.

[0077] In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 may be able to receive from an event organizer 104 or an event guest 106, 108 (or a person associated with an event guest such as, but not limited to, a parent of an event guest) an optional private message that is to be included on an electronic label for a food item. The event organizer 104 or event guest 106, 108 may be able to specify a personalized message on a per event guest basis (which is applied to the label for at least one food item (and in some cases all food items) ordered by that event guest) or on a per food item basis. This may enhance the event guest experience and provide a way to communicate specific information to event guests. For example, where the event is a lunch for a school, this may allow parents or others to provide encouraging or funny messages to their children during the school day. In such cases, when the bulk food management system 102 receives such a personalized message, the bulk food management system 102 may be configured to add the personalized message to the electronic label for that food item.

[0078] In some cases, in addition to providing electronic labels (food items labels and / or transportation package labels) to the food vendors, the bulk food management system 102 may also be configured to send the food vendors instructions and / or details for generating physical labels from the electronic labels. For example, the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., food vendor module 118) may be configured to provide the food vendors 110, 112 with information that enables physical labels to be printed from the electronic labels such as, but not limited to, label size, content, and formatting.

[0079] In some cases, the bulk food management system 1002 (e.g., food vendor module 118) may be configured to generate a list of all the transportation packages for the plurality of food vendors associated with the event and their contents and provide this to the event organizer 104 for use in locating any food item during the event.Educational Platform - Nutrition, etc.

[0080] In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 may also be configured as an educational platform.

[0081] Specifically, in some cases, the bulk food management system 102 may be configured to provide nutritional information and / or guidance to encourage eventguests to consume nutritious food items. For example, as described above, in some cases the bulk food management system 102 may provide to the events guests a product information sheet for each food item available for the event. In these cases, in addition to, or alternative to, providing a description of the food item and / or the ingredients in the product information sheet, the product information sheet may comprise health and nutritional information. For example, the product information sheet for a food item may comprise nutritional information or facts, such as, the amount of certain nutrients etc. in the food item such as, but not limited to salt and sugar.

[0082] In some cases, the nutritional information or facts included in a produce information sheet may be provided to the bulk food management system 102 by the food vendor. In other cases, the bulk food management system 102 may be configured to receive from one or more food vendors the ingredients and quantity thereof in each food item offered by the food vendor, and the bulk food management system 102 may be configured to automatically generate nutritional information and / or facts for each food item based on the corresponding ingredient and quantity information.

[0083] In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 may comprise an artificial intelligence model (not shown) which is configured to generate the nutritional information and / or facts for one or more food items based on the corresponding ingredient and quantity information. This artificial intelligence model may be referred to as a dynamic nutrition calculator. In some cases, the dynamic nutrition calculator may be configured to integrate an individual’s dietary needs with policy requirements, providing real-time compliance verification and adjustment recommendations. The dynamic nutrition calculator may align nutritional information with policy requirements and user preferences, ensuring compliance and adaptability for various meal programs. The dynamic nutrition calculator may increase nutritional compliance accuracy by automating calculations and ensuring alignment with the latest dietary policies.

[0084] In some cases, where nutritional information or facts are available for a food item (either because they were provided by the food vendor or automatically generated by the bulk food management system 102) the bulk food management system 102 may be configured to include all or a portion of the nutritional information or facts for that food item on the electronic label for that food item.

[0085] In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 may be configured to provide, via for example, a website or application associated with the bulk food management system 102 access to videos on nutrition and / or access to a nutrition consultant.

[0086] In some cases, in addition or alternatively, to the bulk food management system 102 being configured to provide nutritional information and / or guidance, the bulk food management system may be configured to provide information and / or guidance on sustainability and the environment. For example, in some cases, the bulk food management system 102 may be configured to include on the product information sheet for a food item, the packing used for that food item so that an event guest can make an informed decision regarding sustainability and the environment.

[0087] In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., food vendor module 118) may be configured to include one or more bits of trivia and / or information on one or more food item labels to educate the event guest. For example, in some cases, the bulk food management system 102 may be configured to include one or more bits of trivia and / or information about nutrition, culture, history, and / or another learning mechanism.Charitable Donations

[0088] In some cases, in addition to arranging for food items to be delivered to an event, the bulk food management system 102 may also facilitate donations to one or more charities. For example, the bulk food management system 102 may comprise a charity module 142 which is configured to provide a mechanism for the event guests 106, 108 to donate to one or more charities. For example, in some cases, when an event guest 106 connects to an event in the bulk food management system 102 (e.g., using the event information received from the event organizer 104 or the bulk food management system 102), in addition to the bulk food management system 102 allowing the user to select food items for the event (and optionally pay for the selected food items), the charity module 142 may provide the event guest with the option to donate to one or more charities.

[0089] In some cases, the charity module 142 may allow the event guest to select one charity from a plurality of charities associated with the event. In some cases, the plurality of charities may be provided in a drop-down list in the userinterface. In other cases, the event may be associated with a single charity and the charity module 142 may allow the event guest to donate to that charity. In either case, the charities associated with the event may be specified by the event organizer 104 when the event organizer creates the event.

[0090] In some cases, the charity module 142 may be configured to provide the event guest with additional information on a charity in response to the event guest requesting more information about the charity. In some cases, providing additional information on a charity may comprise redirecting the event guest to the charity’s website. In other cases, the charity module 142 may be configured to store additional information about each charity such as, but not limited to, their mission, goals, impact and / or donation options, and the charity module 142 may be configured to provide the stored information about a charity upon request.

[0091] Once an event guest (or an individual associated with the event guest) has selected a charity to provide a donation to, the event guest may be able to specify the amount that they wish to donate to the selected charity. In some cases, the event guest may either specify a specific dollar amount or a percentage of the selected food item(s) amount. Once the event guest has selected a charity and a donation amount the charity module 142 may be configured to direct the guest to a financial interface (e.g., presented by the financial module 120) where the event guest can provide financial details (e.g., bank details or credit card details) for making the donation. Once the event guest has provided their financial details the charity module 142 may be configured to facilitate the transfer of the selected donation amount to the selected charity using the provided financial details.

[0092] In some cases, the charity module 142 may be further configured to track the donations made to each charity and / or the donations made by each event guest and generate a report based thereon. The report for the charity may, for example, indicate the number of event guests who have donated to the charity, the total amount donated to the charity and / or track the progress toward a fundraising goal or target. The report for the event guest may provide a summary of all of the charities that the event guest donated to, and the amounts donated to each charity. In these cases, the charity module 142 may provide (e.g., in a user interface) a mechanism to access the report for the charity and / or the for the event guest.

[0093] In some cases, the charity module 142 may be selectively enabled or disabled on a per event basis. When the charity module 142 is disabled for an event the charity module 142 event guests may not be prompted to contribute or donate to a charity. In contrast, when the charity module 142 is enabled for an event the event guests may be prompted to contribute or donate to a charity.Promotions and Discounts

[0094] In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 may comprise a promotion and discount module 144 which allows event organizers and / or event guests to be offered promotions and / or discounts on food items. Specifically, the promotion and discount module 144 is configured to, when certain conditions are met, issue or assign promotion or discount codes to an event organizer and / or one or more event guests which can be used to redeem food items and / or reduce the cost of food items.

[0095] In some cases, the promotion and discount module 144 may be configured to automatically issue or assign a promotion or discount code to an event organizer after the event organizer has, for example, organized a predetermined number of events, or a predetermined number of events within a certain timeframe, or one or more events with a predetermined total number of event guests or a predetermined total number of food items. Similarly, in some cases, the promotion and discount module 144 may be configured to automatically issue a promotion or discount code to an event guest after the event guest has, for example, ordered a predetermined total number of food items, or a predetermined total number of food items within a predetermined timeframe. In some cases, the promotion and discount module 144 may be configured to automatically issue or assign a promotion or discount code to an event guest when they have ordered a specific food item identified as a promotional item. These are examples only, and the promotion and discount module 144 may be configured to issue a discount or promotion code if other conditions are met.

[0096] In some cases, the promotion and discount module 144 may be configured to, once an event organizer or event guest has been issued or assigned a promotion or discount code, notify the event organizer or event guest that that they have been issued or assigned the promotion or discount code. The promotion anddiscount module 144 may be configured to notify an event organizer or event guest via email or any other suitable notification means.

[0097] Each promotion or discount code may be associated with a discount which can be applied to food items; and an identifier (e.g., a unique alphanumeric identifier) that identifies the promotion or discount code. The discount may be, for example, a discount percentage, a discount flat amount, a number of free food items, if X food items are ordered then a Y% discount is applied (wherein X is an integer and Y is any positive number) etc. In some cases, a promotion or discount code may have a start date (and the promotion or discount code cannot be used until this date) and / or an end date (and the promotion or discount code cannot be used past this date).

[0098] If an event organizer or an event guest has been issued or assigned a promotional or discount code, then the event organizer or event guest may be able to apply the associated discount to an event when they are placing their order (e.g., paying for their food items). In some cases, the event organizer or the event guest may be able to apply a discount associated with a promotion or discount code by providing the associated identifier to the bulk food management system 102 when they are placing their order. For example, the user interface provided to the event organizer for specifying the event information or the user interface provided to an event guest for selecting food items for an event may comprise a field where the identifier associated with a promotion or discount code can be entered. The entered identifier may then be provided to the promotion and discount module 144 which determines whether the identifier is valid, and if the identifier is valid, applies the associated discount to the event or to the order.Compliance Management

[0099] In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 may also comprise a compliance module 146 that is configured to determine whether a food vendor meets one or more health and / or nutrition regulations. For example, the government of Ontario issued a Schools Food and Beverage Policy (PPM 150) which sets out nutrition standards for food and beverages sold in publicly funded elementary and secondary schools in Ontario. Specifically, it provides guidelines for the types of foods and beverages that can be served in schools. School boards in Ontario are required to ensure that all food and beverages sold on school premises for schoolpurposes meet the requirements set out in the policy, including the nutrition standards. The nutrition standards are intended to ensure that the food and beverages sold in schools are healthy as set out in Canada’s Food Guide and thus contribute to students’ healthy growth and development.

[0100] In PPM 150 food is divided into “Vegetables and Fruit”, “Grain Products”, “Milk and Alternatives”, and “Meat and Alternatives”, following Canada’s Food Guide. There are also “Mixed Dishes” for products that contain more than one major ingredient (e.g., pizza, pasta, soup, salads and sandwiches) and “Miscellaneous Items”, for items that are to be used in limited amounts (e.g., condiments, sauces, dips, oils, dressings) and for confectionary, which is not permitted for sale (e.g., candy, chocolate). PPM 150 also divides foods into a “Sell More” category and a “Sell Less” category. Products in the former category are the healthiest options and generally have higher levels of essential nutrients and lower amount of fat, sugar and / or sodium. They must make up at least 80% of all food choices that are available for sale in all venues, through all programs, and at all events. Products in the latter category may have slightly higher amount of fat, sugar and / or sodium than food and beverage in the “Sell Most” category. These must make up no more than 20% of all food choices that are available for sale in all venues, through all programs, and at all events.

[0101] The compliance module 146 is configured to receive the food vendor’s menu to be offered to the entity of interest (e.g., school) and the ingredients forming each menu item (e.g., meal or meal option) and automatically compute nutrition statistics therefrom. The compliance module 146 then compares the computed nutrition statistics to the nutrition standards set out in the relevant regulations to determine if the menu is in compliance with the regulations. In some cases, the compliance module 146 may be configured to automatically determine which nutrition statistics to generate based on the relevant regulations. For example, if a regulation, such as PPM 150, sets out rules around fat, saturated fat, sodium, fiber and protein content then the compliance module 146 may be configured to compute the fat, sodium, fiber and protein content of the food items offered by the food vendor. In some cases, the compliance module 146 may be configured to adapt to different regulations. For example, in some cases, the compliance module 146 may be configured to receive one or more regulations and extract from the received regulations the relevant nutrition statistics to be generated. The compliance module146 can then, for a new food vendor, compute the identified relevant nutrition statistics and compare the computed nutrition statistics to the relevant regulations.

[0102] The results of the compliance determination may be used to determine whether a food vendor is to be added to the supported food vendor list for the bulk food management system 102; or determine whether a third-party vendor is allowed to provide meals directly (i.e., not via the bulk food management system 102) to an entity (e.g., elementary school or secondary school in Ontario) covered by the regulations. In the latter case the compliance module 146 may be used separately from the remainder of the bulk food management system 102. Specifically, the compliance module 146 may be used on its own to determine whether a food vendor is allowed to sell products directly to an entity (e.g., school). In other words, the compliance module 146 may be used to validate a food vendor is in compliance with the relevant regulations with respect to an entity that it wishes to provide food to.

[0103] In some cases, once a food vendor has been validated by the compliance module 146, the compliance module 146 may also be able to track or monitor the food vendor’s continued compliance. For example, the compliance module 146 may be configured to receive information from an entity (e.g., school) on the food items (e.g., meals) provided to the entity by the food vendor and the compliance module 146 may be configured to determine whether the food vendor continues to be in compliance with the relevant regulations. The determination of whether the food vendor continues to be in compliance with the relevant regulations may take into account exceptions in the relevant regulation such as “cheat days”. In some cases, the compliance module 146 may be configured to generate reports on compliance and / or maintain records of compliant and non-compliant food items (e.g., meals) served by food vendors.Event Management

[0104] In some cases, in addition to being able to deliver customized food from multiple food vendors, the bulk food management system may also be configured to be able to manage other events. For example, an event organizer 104 may be able to generate other types of events (e.g., a school representative may be able to generate field trips or concerts). Similar to generating a food-related event, the event organizer may be able to create another type of event by providing event details suchas the event location, event date, and event guests. The event organizer may also be able to specify a cost associated with the event. The bulk food management system 102 may then be configured to automatically send reminders (e.g., reminder emails) to the event guests, including pre-event and post-event communications. The bulk food management system 102 may also allow event guests to securely make payments related to the event through, for example, the financial module. The bulk food management system 102 may also be able to generate participation reports which can be provided to the event organizer after the event. These reports may aid in logistics, attendance, tracking and financial reconciliation. In this manner, once an event guest has a profile or account in the bulk food management system 102 that account may be used to select or order food and participate in other events.Artificial Intelligence- Powered Automated Event Evaluation and Optimization

[0105] In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 may comprise an event evaluation module 148 which is configured to dynamically evaluate an event using real-time data to provide insights for future improvements and optimizing event performance through automated analysis. Specifically, the event evaluation module 148 may be configured to receive feedback on an event from, for example, the event organizer 104, event guests 106, 108 and the food vendors 110, 112 and integrate this feedback, using an artificial intelligence model, with event outcomes and logistical data to create comprehensive post-event reports, providing insights for continuous event optimization. In some cases, the post-event reports may comprise information on event performance such as, but not limited to an analysis on key metrics such as, but not limited to participant satisfaction, logistical efficiency and food vendor performance. The post-event reports may ultimately enhance event quality by providing data-driven recommendations for future planning which may reduce inefficiencies and improve the event guest experience.Example - System Used to Provide School Lunches

[0106] In some cases, the described system 100 of FIG. 1 may be used to provide lunch meals to school children. Specifically, in some cases, an administrator for a school (e.g. an event organizer) may specify days in which the children at the school can receive a hot lunch (each of these lunch days being an event) and the food vendors that the hot lunches may be selected from; and parents of the children in aschool (e.g. event guests) may be provided a link which allows them to order lunches for their child / children on the specified dates from the selected food vendors. The selected lunches may then be delivered to the school on the desired dates and distributed to the children as described above.

[0107] Reference is now made to FIGS. 3 to 13 which illustrate an example graphical user interface which may allow event guests (or their representatives, e.g., parents) to interact with the bulk food management system 102 to order food items (e.g., lunch meals) for events (e.g., lunch days at their child’s school). In the example described herein an event guest (or their representative) must have profile or account with the bulk food management system 102, and be signed into into their, profile or account with the bulk food management system 102 to be able to order food for an event. Where the event guest (or their representative) has a profile or account with the bulk food management system, the event guest (or their representative) may access a sign-on interface as shown in FIG. 3 where the event guest (or their representative) can enter their sign-in credentials such as, but not limited to their username and password.

[0108] Where, however, the event guest (or their representative) doesn’t have an account or profile with the bulk food management system 102 then they may create an account via a sign-up interface, such as that shown in FIG. 4. For example, as shown in FIG. 4 the event guest (or their representative) may create an account or profile by providing personal details about themselves such as their name, and contact information such as their email address and / or phone number.

[0109] Where the profile or account belongs to a representative (e.g., parent) of an event guest the representative may then be asked to specify which event guest (e.g., student) or guests they represent. For example, as shown in FIG. 5 they may be presented with an add child interface to add their child to their profile or account. As shown in FIG. 5, the representative (e.g., parent) may be able to add a child to their account or profile by specifying their first and last name, school, teacher’s name and grade. One or more of the school, teacher’s name and grade may be selected from a predetermined drop-down list. Once the details for a new child have been added, the representative may be presented with confirmation that the new child has been added to their profile or account as shown in FIG. 6.

[0110] In some cases, once a new child has been added to a representative’s profile or account the representative may be asked to provide, via an allergy interface such as that shown in FIG. 7, allergy and / or other dietary restriction information for that child. For example, as shown in FIG. 7 the representative may be able to specify whether the child is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy, eggs, milk / dairy, sesame seeds, fish, shellfish or any other foods. The representative may also be able to specify an allergy alert level (e.g., low, medium, high or major). The allergy alert level may be different for different allergens. For example, the allergy alert level for milk / dairy may be “low” and the allergy alert level for peanuts may be “low”.

[0111] Once the event guest (or their representative) has signed into their account or profile either by providing their sign-in credentials in the log-in interface or creating a new profile or account via the sign-up interface the event guest (or their representative) can select one or more food items for an event. Specifically, the user can select one or more food items from the food vendors associated with the event. For example, as shown in FIG. 8 the event guest (or their representative) be presented with a food item selection interface which provides a list of the available food items from the food vendors associated with the event. As shown in FIG. 8 the event guest (or their representative) may be able to obtain more information about an available food item (e.g., by clicking or otherwise selecting the “Info” button associated with the food item) or select the food item (e.g., by clicking or otherwise selecting the “Add” button associated with the food item).

[0112] FIG. 9 illustrates an example of additional information that may be provided to the user about a food item. Specifically, FIG. 9 illustrates an example additional information interface that provides additional information about the “Build Your Own Pita kit - Chicken” food item which may be displayed after clicking the “Info” button associated with that food item. As can been seen in FIG. 9, the additional information may include information such as configurable options for the food item, the ingredients in the food item, and nutrition facts for the food item. As described above, and shown in FIG. 9, in some cases the representative may be able submit a personalize message that is to be included with a selected food item. It can be seen that in this example the event guest (or their representative) may be able to select the food item from the additional information interface shown in FIG. 9 by clicking or otherwise selecting the “Add” button.

[0113] The event guest (or representative thereof) may be able to see the currently selected food items by clicking on or otherwise selecting the shopping basket. For example, clicking on or otherwise selecting the shopping basket icon may cause a selected food item list interface, such as that shown in FIG. 10, to be displayed which lists the currently selected food items. In this example, the event guest (or representative thereof) may be able confirm their food items selections by clicking on, or otherwise selecting, the “Place Order” button which may cause a summary food item interface, such as that shown in FIG. 11 , to be displayed which shows not only the food items that have been selected, but the total cost of the selected items. The event guest (or representative thereof) may then be able to finalize the order by clicking, or otherwise selecting, the “Pay Now” button and then entering payment or financial details (e.g., credit card details) in a payment interface, such as that shown in FIG. 12. As described above, this causes the bulk food management system 102 to generate an electronic label for each selected food item which is sent to the appropriate food vendor. The food vendor then prepares and labels each food item identified by an electronic label prior to the event and the labelled food items are delivered to the event location (e.g., school) at the appropriate time and date.

[0114] As described above, in some cases, if the event guest has one or more specifies allergies and / or dietary restrictions the bulk food management system 102 may be configured to automatically analyze the available food items to determine if they conflict with the event guest’s allergies. In some cases, if the bulk food management system 102 identifies a food item that conflicts with the event guest’s allergies or other dietary restrictions the bulk food management system 102 may be configured to identify the food item as a food item that conflicts with the event guest’s allergies and / or other dietary restriction. In some cases, the bulk food management system 102 may also be configured to disable a conflicting food item from selection by the event guest. FIG. 13 is an example of the food item selection interface of FIG. 8 in which the four food items shown therein have been identified as conflicting with the event guest’s allergies and have been disabled from selection.Example Method

[0115] Reference is now made to FIG. 14 which illustrates an example method 1400 for bulk food ordering and delivery which may be implemented by the bulk food management system 102 of FIG. 1. The method 1400 begins at block 1402 whereevent information is received (e.g., at the bulk food management system 102). The event information comprises event details and food vendor details. The event details comprise information identifying an event date, event location and a plurality of event guests. The food vendor details comprise information identifying a plurality of food vendors. The event information may be received from an event organizer via, for example, a user interface presented by a website hosted by the bulk food management system or an application that is in communication with the bulk food management system. As described above, in some cases, the event details may be first received which triggers the bulk food management system 102 to generate a list of recommended vendors that satisfy the event details and then a plurality of food vendors forthe event may be selected. Once the event information has been received, the method 1400 proceeds to block 1404.

[0116] At block 1404, a selection of one or more food items from the plurality of vendors is received for each of the plurality of event guests. The selection of food items for an event guest may be received from the event guest (or a representative thereof). Specifically, as described above, each event guest may be provided with information identifying the event which allows the event guest to access the event in the bulk food management system 102 where they can select their food item(s) forthe event. Once the selection of food items for the event guests has been received, the method 1400 proceeds to block 1406.

[0117] At block 1406, an electronic label for each selected food item is automatically generated. As described above, an electronic food label may comprise information identifying the food item and the event guest who selected the food item. In some cases, an electronic food label may comprise additional information such as, but not limited to, allergies or dietary restrictions of the event guest and / or a personal message. Once the electronic labels forthe selected food items have been generated the method 1400 proceeds to block 1408.

[0118] At block 1408, each generated food label is sent to the corresponding food vendor. Sending an electronic label for a selected food item to a food vendor causes a labelled version of the food item to be delivered to the event location on the event date. Specifically, in response to receiving a food label at a food vendor the food vendor may, prior to the event, make the food item, generate a physical label from the electronic label, and affix the physical label to the food item (or a containerfor the food item). Once all the food items for the event have been prepared by a food vendor the food items are delivered to the event location at the appropriate time.

[0119] All the systems and methods above have been described in relation to delivering food items specifically similar systems may be used to deliver any type of items from a supplier to a set of recipient. Thus a food vendor can be described as a specific example of a supplier, an event guest can be described as a specific example of a recipient, and event organizer can be described as a specific example of an supply co-ordinator.Example Computer

[0120] Reference is now made to FIG. 15 which illustrates a simplified block diagram of an example computer 1500, which may also be referred to herein as a computing device. Computer 1500 is an example implementation of a computer which may implement all or a part of the system 100 of FIG. 1 or all or a part of the method 1400 of FIG. 14. Computer 1500 has at least one processor 1502 operatively coupled to at least one memory 1504, at least one communications interface 1506 (also referred to herein as a network interface), and at least one input / output (I / O) device 1508.

[0121] The at least one memory 1504 includes a volatile memory that stores instructions executed or executable by the processor 1502, and input and output data used or generated during execution of the instructions. The memory 1504 may also include non-volatile memory used to store input and / or output data - e.g., within a database - along with program code containing executable instructions.

[0122] The processor 1502 may transmit or receive data via the communications interface 406 and may also transmit or receive data via any additional input / output device 408 as appropriate.

[0123] In some cases, the processor 1502 may include a system of central processing units (CPUs) 1510. In other cases, the processor 1502 includes a system of one or more CPUs 1510 and one or more Graphical Processing Units (GPUs) 1512 that are coupled together.

[0124] Various systems or processes have been described to provide examples of embodiments of the claimed subject matter. No such example embodiment described limits any claim and any claim may cover processes or systems that differfrom those described. The claims are not limited to systems or processes having all the features of any one system or process described above or to features common to multiple or all the systems or processes described above. It is possible that a system or process described above is not an embodiment of any exclusive right granted by issuance of this patent application. Any subject matter described above and for which an exclusive right is not granted by issuance of this patent application may be the subject matter of another protective instrument, for example, a continuing patent application, and the applicants, inventors or owners do not intend to abandon, disclaim or dedicate to the public any such subject matter by its disclosure in this document.

[0125] For simplicity and clarity of illustration, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. In addition, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the subject matter described herein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the subject matter described herein may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the subject matter described herein.

[0126] The terms “coupled” or “coupling” as used herein can have several different meanings depending in the context in which these terms are used. For example, the terms coupled or coupling can have a mechanical, electrical or communicative connotation. For example, as used herein, the terms coupled or coupling can indicate that two elements or devices are directly connected to one another or connected to one another through one or more intermediate elements or devices via an electrical element, electrical signal, ora mechanical element depending on the particular context. Furthermore, the term “operatively coupled” may be used to indicate that an element or device can electrically, optically, or wirelessly send data to another element or device as well as receive data from another element or device.

[0127] As used herein, the wording “and / or” is intended to represent an inclusive-or. That is, “X and / or Y” is intended to mean X or Y or both, for example. As a further example, “X, Y, and / or Z” is intended to mean X or Y or Z or any combination thereof.

[0128] Terms of degree such as "substantially", "about", and "approximately" as used herein mean a reasonable amount of deviation of the modified term such that the result is not significantly changed. These terms of degree may also be construed as including a deviation of the modified term if this deviation would not negate the meaning of the term it modifies.

[0129] Any recitation of numerical ranges by endpoints herein includes all numbers and fractions subsumed within that range (e.g., 1 to 5 includes 1 , 1.5, 2, 2.75, 3, 3.90, 4, and 5). It is also to be understood that all numbers and fractions thereof are presumed to be modified by the term "about" which means a variation of up to a certain amount of the number to which reference is being made if the result is not significantly changed.

[0130] Some elements herein may be identified by a part number, which is composed of a base number followed by an alphabetical or subscript-numerical suffix (e.g., 112a, or 112b). All elements with a common base number may be referred to collectively or generically using the base number without a suffix (e.g., 112).

[0131] The systems and methods described herein may be implemented as a combination of hardware or software. In some cases, the systems and methods described herein may be implemented, at least in part, by using one or more computer programs, executing on one or more programmable devices including at least one processing element, and a data storage element (including volatile and non-volatile memory and / or storage elements). These systems may also have at least one input device (e.g., a pushbutton keyboard, mouse, a touchscreen, and the like), and at least one output device (e.g., a display screen, a printer, a wireless radio, and the like) depending on the nature of the device. Further, in some examples, one or more of the systems and methods described herein may be implemented in or as part of a distributed or cloud-based computing system having multiple computing components distributed across a computing network. For example, the distributed or cloud-based computing system may correspond to a private distributed or cloud-based computing cluster that is associated with an organization. Additionally, or alternatively, the distributed or cloud-based computing system be a publicly accessible, distributed or cloud-based computing cluster, such as a computing cluster maintained by Microsoft Azure™, Amazon Web Services™, Google Cloud™, or another third-party provider. In some instances, the distributed computing components of the distributed or cloud-based computing system may be configured to implement one or more parallelized, fault-tolerant distributed computing and analytical processes, such as processes provisioned by an Apache Spark™ distributed, cluster-computing framework or a Databricks™ analytical platform. Further, and in addition to the CPUs described herein, the distributed computing components may also include one or more graphics processing units (GPUs) capable of processing thousands of operations (e.g., vector operations) in a single clock cycle, and additionally, or alternatively, one or more tensor processing units (TPUs) capable of processing hundreds of thousands of operations (e.g., matrix operations) in a single clock cycle.

[0132] Some elements that are used to implement at least part of the systems, methods, and devices described herein may be implemented via software that is written in a high-level procedural language such as object-oriented programming language. Accordingly, the program code may be written in any suitable programming language such as Python or Java, for example. Alternatively, or in addition thereto, some of these elements implemented via software may be written in assembly language, machine language orfirmware as needed. In either case, the language may be a compiled or interpreted language.

[0133] At least some of these software programs may be stored on a storage media (e.g., a computer readable medium such as, but not limited to, read-only memory, magnetic disk, optical disc) or a device that is readable by a general or special purpose programmable device. The software program code, when read by the programmable device, configures the programmable device to operate in a new, specific, and predefined manner to perform at least one of the methods described herein.

[0134] Furthermore, at least some of the programs associated with the systems and methods described herein may be capable of being distributed in a computer program product including a computer readable medium that bears computer usable instructions for one or more processors. The medium may be provided in various forms, including non-transitory forms such as, but not limited to, one or more diskettes, compact disks, tapes, chips, and magnetic and electronic storage. Alternatively, the medium may be transitory in nature such as, but not limited to, wire-line transmissions, satellite transmissions, internet transmissions (e.g., downloads), media, digital andanalog signals, and the like. The computer usable instructions may also be in various formats, including compiled and non-compiled code.

[0135] While the above description provides examples of one or more processes or systems, it will be appreciated that other processes or systems may be within the scope of the accompanying claims.

[0136] To the extent any amendments, characterizations, or other assertions previously made (in this or in any related patent applications or patents, including any parent, sibling, or child) with respect to any art, prior or otherwise, could be construed as a disclaimer of any subject matter supported by the present disclosure of this application, Applicant hereby rescinds and retracts such disclaimer. Applicant also respectfully submits that any prior art previously considered in any related patent applications or patents, including any parent, sibling, or child, may need to be revisited.

Claims

What is claimed is:1 . A system for bulk food ordering and delivery comprising: a bulk food management system comprising a memory, a communication interface and at least one processor operatively coupled to the memory and the communication interface, the at least one processor configured to: receive event information, the event information comprising event details and food vendor details, the event details comprising information identifying an event date, event location and a plurality of event guests, the food vendor details comprising information identifying a plurality of food vendors; receive, for each of the plurality of event guests, a selection of one or more food items from the plurality of food vendors; automatically generate an electronic label for each selected food item; and send, to each of the plurality of vendors, the generated electronic labels for the selected food items from that food vendor; wherein sending an electronic label for a selected food item to a food vendor causes a labelled version of the food item to be delivered to the event location on the event date.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to, in response to receiving the event details, automatically generate a plurality recommended food vendors based on the event details, and the plurality of food vendors are selected from the plurality of recommended food vendors.

3. The system of any preceding claim, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: automatically determine, for each food vendor of the plurality of food vendors, (i) a number of transportation packages to be used to transport the selected food items from that food vendor and (ii) the selected food items from that food vendor to be placed in each transportation package; andnotify each food vendor of the number of transportation packages and the food items to be placed in each transportation package.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the at least one processor is configured to notify a food vendor of the number of transportation packages and the food items to be placed in each transportation package by generating an electronic label for each transportation package and sending the electronic labels for the transportation packages and the electronic labels for the food items in a specific order in which each electronic label for a transportation package is followed by the electronic labels for the food items in that transportation package.

5. The system of claim 3 or claim 4, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive information indicating a sub-division of the plurality of event guests into a plurality of groups and the at least one processor is configured to determine, for each food vendor of the plurality of food vendors, (i) the number of transportation packages to be used to transport the selected food items from that food vendor and (ii) the selected food items from that food vendor to be placed in each transportation package so that food items corresponding to event guests in a same group are in a same transportation package.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein each event guest of the plurality of event guests is associated with a sub-location of a plurality of sub-locations of the event location, and each of the plurality of groups comprises events guests associated with a same sub-location.

7. The system of any preceding claim, wherein the electronic label for a selected food item comprises information identifying the food item and the corresponding event guest.

8. The system of any preceding claim, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:receive, for an event guest of the plurality of event guests, information identifying one or more food allergies and / or dietary restrictions; and determine, for each food item offered by the plurality of food vendors, whether the food item is in conflict with the one or more food allergies and / or dietary restrictions.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive, for each food item offered by the plurality of food vendors, a set of one or more ingredients forming that food item and the at least one processor is configured to determine whether a food item is in conflict with the one or more food allergies and / or dietary restrictions by comparing the set of one or more food ingredients to the one or more food allergies and / or dietary restrictions.

10. The system of claim 8 or claim 9, wherein the at least one processor is configured to, in response to determining that a food item is in conflict with the one or more food allergies and / or dietary restrictions, prohibit the selection of that food item for the event guest.11 .The system of claim 8 or claim 9, wherein the at least one processor is configured to, in response to determining that a selected food item is in conflict with the one or more food allergies and / or dietary restrictions, query the event guest to determine whether the selection of that food item is valid.

12. The system of any of claims 8 to 11 , wherein the electronic label for each food item selected by the event guest comprises information identifying the one or more food allergies and / or dietary restrictions.

13. The system of any preceding claim, wherein the at least one processor is configured to, in response to receiving the event information, provide information identifying the event to each event guest of the plurality of event guests, the information identifying the event enabling each event guest toprovide the selection of the one or more food items from the plurality of food vendors to the at least one processor.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the at least one processor is configured to provide the information identifying the event to each event guest of the plurality of event guests by sending the information identifying the event to an event organizer which causes the event organizer to send the information identifying the event to each event guest of the plurality of event guests.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the at least one processor is configured to provide the information identifying the event to each event guest of the plurality of event guests by sending the information identifying the event to each event guest of the plurality of event guests.

16. The system of any of claims 13 to 15, wherein the information identifying the event comprises a machine-readable code with an embedded link or the information identifying the event comprises a link.

17. The system of any preceding claim, wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive, for an event guest, a customization of a selected food item, and the electronic label for that food item comprises information identifying the customization.

18. The system of any preceding claim, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive from a food vendor of the plurality of food vendors a notification that the food items identified in the received electronic labels are ready for delivery; and in response to receiving the notification, cause a delivery service to pick-up the labelled versions of the food items and deliver the labelled versions of the food items to the event location.

19. A method for bulk food ordering and delivery, the method executed in a computing environment comprising at least one processor, a communication interface, and memory, and the method comprising: receiving event information, the event information comprising event details and food vendor details, the event details comprising information identifying an event date, event location and a plurality of event guests, the food vendor details comprising information identifying a plurality of food vendors; receiving, for each of the plurality of event guests, a selection of one or more food items from the plurality of food vendors; automatically generating an electronic label for each selected food item; and sending, to each of the plurality of vendors, the generated electronic labels for the selected food items from that food vendor; wherein sending an electronic label for a selected food item to a food vendor causes a labelled version of the food item to be delivered to the event location on the event date.

20. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer executable instructions which, when executed by at least one computer processor, cause the at least one computer processor to carry out a method for bulk food ordering and delivery, the method comprising: receiving event information, the event information comprising event details and food vendor details, the event details comprising information identifying an event date, event location and a plurality of event guests, the food vendor details comprising information identifying a plurality of food vendors; receiving, for each of the plurality of event guests, a selection of one or more food items from the plurality of food vendors;automatically generating an electronic label for each selected food item; and sending, to each of the plurality of vendors, the generated electronic labels for the selected food items from that food vendor; wherein sending an electronic label for a selected food item to a food vendor causes a labelled version of the food item to be delivered to the event location on the event date.

Images