Chandigarh Startup “Tricity Cares” App Tackles Food Waste, Goes Viral in First Week
This New App is Changing Chandigarh’s Heartbeat—And It Was Built by Two Local Students.
Chandigarh, October 4, 2025 – While the city’s residents are enjoying the pleasant weather, a different kind of buzz is electrifying Chandigarh’s digital space. A new, locally-built mobile app called “Tricity Cares” has gone viral this week, creating a powerful social movement that is connecting restaurants, NGOs, and volunteers in a way the city has never seen before.
The app, launched just 10 days ago by two Panjab University alumni, Anisha Sharma and Rohan Gupta, addresses a simple but profound problem: daily food waste from restaurants and events.
The “Tricity Cares” platform allows food businesses—from high-end hotels in Sector 17 to local sweet shops in Sector 22—to list surplus, untouched food at the end of the day. Registered NGOs and local charities receive real-time alerts, see what’s available, and can immediately dispatch volunteers for pickup.
What started as a small project has seen an explosive, organic growth. As of this weekend, the app has reportedly been downloaded over 50,000 times. More than 200 Tricity restaurants have signed up, and the platform has already facilitated the distribution of an estimated 8,000 meals to the city’s homeless shelters and underprivileged communities.
“We were working at a catering event last year and saw kilos of perfectly good food being thrown away. It was heartbreaking,” said co-founder Anisha Sharma. “We knew technology could bridge the gap between waste and want. We never imagined the response would be this immediate and this massive.”
The trend is being driven by the city’s residents. Social media is flooded with the #ChandigarhCares hashtag, as people share screenshots of the app, tag their favorite restaurants encouraging them to join, and sign up to volunteer for food pickups. It has become a citizen-led movement, celebrated as a true example of Chandigarh’s “Smart City” ethos in action.
This weekend, the story of Chandigarh isn’t just about leisure; it’s about purpose. It’s a story of local innovation, community spirit, and a powerful reminder that the city’s biggest strength lies in its people.
