Client Los Angeles Regional Food Bank
Since 1973, The Regional Food Bank from Los Angeles has worked to mobilize resources in the community to alleviate hunger.
The NGO organization collects food from hundreds of resources. With the help of 30,000 volunteers annually and a network of more than 700 partner agencies, they serve more than 900,000 people every month.
Roles: Design Research
Product & Visual Designer
Interaction & Interface Design
Timeline Fall 2021
Product & Visual Designer
Interaction & Interface Design
Timeline Fall 2021
Academic Project Interaction Design Studio
The Challenge
“Empower a specific audience and issue to help improve the food collection and distribution addressing the global food waste.
Provide a mode of measurement or service to single or multiple systems.”
Provide a mode of measurement or service to single or multiple systems.”
- Chan Nicole, Design Brief.
An interview with the Chief Acquisition Officer of Los Angeles Regional Foodbank revealed the need for a system that monitors users' preferred Items. In our field observations, we witnessed people throwing away unwanted items right out of the door. When interviewed, users reported receiving arbitrary or unmatching items, sometimes against their alimentary restrictions. The problem is that food that had already been taken can't be reused anymore. This problem leads to food and resources being wasted, limiting the reach of the food assistance program.
Food waste at the donation center
“I wish there was a way to track down what the people want before we make the care packages”
- Jeanna Kindle, LA Food Bank CPAO
Research Findings
‣ The majority of food waste in America occurs within the manufacturing and retail industries due to overproduction.
See Global Food Losses and Food Waste, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
See Global Food Losses and Food Waste, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
‣ Each year, 1.3 billion pounds of food is wasted just in the United States alone.
See How We Fight Food Waste In The US, Feeding America
See How We Fight Food Waste In The US, Feeding America
‣ Over 38 million Americans (11.8 %) lived in households that suffer food insecurity, or lack access to an affordable, nutritious diet.
See Hunger & Poverty in America, Food Research & Actions Center
See Hunger & Poverty in America, Food Research & Actions Center
Interviews
We target people in roles that could make a difference. This first-hand information was key to obtaining information about the industry that could provide a realistic solution to a real-life problem.
For this task we contacted store managers from small and big retailers, we also reached out to multiple officers of the local food banks and established a communication chain with the Chief Acquisition Officer of the Regional Food Bank. Ultimately we toured a distribution campaign to perform field observation and talk with a Beneficiary.
For this task we contacted store managers from small and big retailers, we also reached out to multiple officers of the local food banks and established a communication chain with the Chief Acquisition Officer of the Regional Food Bank. Ultimately we toured a distribution campaign to perform field observation and talk with a Beneficiary.
Below is the critical information obtained during this research phase:
Key Insights from Supermarket Managers
‣ Big brands push items onto the shelves to look “fully stocked” without actually knowing what the community wants.
‣ The main delivery is set by the company headquarters based on metrics and statistics nationwide.
‣ The arbitrary restocking system is a root cause for products expiring on the shelves.
‣ LA stores partner with local food banks that pick up some items every seven days. However, due to liability and legal reasons, the majority of food that is near the expiration date gets thrown away.
Key Insights from the CPAO
‣ The biggest pain point is knowing beforehand people’s preferred products to have an accurate purchase.
‣ There is a lack of manpower to keep a store constantly open. For this, they rely on distribution campaigns with set dates and times.
‣ The peak dates for volunteer participation are during the holidays. The rest of the year, volunteers are mostly retired or elderly people. It could be beneficial to have a way to organize volunteers' time.
Key Insights from a Beneficiary
‣ Often they receive mismatched items that can’t be combined in one meal.
‣ They often receive items that can’t be consumed due to individual circumstances (i.e. food allergies, dietary restrictions, or religious reasons).
‣ The box sometimes is heavy and people that don’t have a car need to toss some items to be able to take the box home.
Concept:
GIVE CONSUMERS A CHOICE
We target people in roles that could make a difference. This first-hand information was key to obtaining information about the industry that could provide a realistic solution to a real-life problem.
For this task we contacted store managers from small and big retailers, we also reached out to multiple officers of the local food banks and established a communication chain with the Chief Acquisition Officer of the Regional Food Bank. Ultimately we toured a distribution campaign to perform field observation and talk with a Beneficiary.
For this task we contacted store managers from small and big retailers, we also reached out to multiple officers of the local food banks and established a communication chain with the Chief Acquisition Officer of the Regional Food Bank. Ultimately we toured a distribution campaign to perform field observation and talk with a Beneficiary.
Below is the critical information obtained during this research phase:
Iteration Process
Competitive Research
We researched marketplaces from the local food retailers to perform a feature inventory list.
It was helpful to see features such as inventory and shopping lists. We also learned the necessary steps for a standard registration process.
It was helpful to see features such as inventory and shopping lists. We also learned the necessary steps for a standard registration process.
Wireframes
We did a paper sketch of the different user flows for the whole service. I was responsible for developing the user flow of the registration process. An important discussion surged regarding the ways the system should protect the anonymity of the users and the security of the information.
Low-Fi Digital Sketch
The was the first time we put together boxes in Figma to assemble the general idea of the usability of the app. We used these first sketches to test if the features were easy to read.
Low-Fi prototype
Our first digital adaptation was used to test a few of the functions with real users.
We inquired about the usability of the items, date selector, and shopping cart information.
Key insights prove that the system will be easy to understand and apply since most people are familiar with marketplaces.
We inquired about the usability of the items, date selector, and shopping cart information.
Key insights prove that the system will be easy to understand and apply since most people are familiar with marketplaces.
MID-Fi prototype
Designed to run a usability test using all the features intended.
This prototype presents the possibility to select three different versions of the same product. This allowed us to ask final users about their preferences between one design and the other.
This prototype presents the possibility to select three different versions of the same product. This allowed us to ask final users about their preferences between one design and the other.
Final Prototype
The final prototype was still subject to a heuristic examination by fellow UX designers, who looked for usability and functionality flaws that could be confusing for end-users. Among the key insights was a refinement in the color scheme to benefit individuals with color blindness and to better utilize commonly associated colors for the call to action across the platform.
Further observational research is ideal with this final prototype. However, we would need to fully partner with the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank Organization to perform this research.
Further observational research is ideal with this final prototype. However, we would need to fully partner with the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank Organization to perform this research.
Functional Prototype:
REFLECTIONS
During our research on food waste, we found that there is a large portion of the population that experiences food insecurity. Despite the efforts of organizations such as Feeding America, the U.S. is one of the most wasteful societies in the world, owning 30% of the global food waste every year. As part of our challenge to address food waste in Los Angeles County, we decided to pay close attention to those who were in the most need. We found that in Los Angeles, 1 in 4 households experience food insecurity. That number skyrocketed since the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 and the number of people needing food assistance is very high during this time. As a result, charity organizations are collapsing due to the overwhelming amount of people requesting assistance, and help in spreading the budget is critically needed.
Our team quickly found a pain point that could be addressed with the use of technology. There was a lack of an anticipatory inventory system that would help generate digital data of consumer preferences; including the ability to track dietary or other types of restrictions (i.e. we found that some religions can’t consume pork or any item that comes in contact with it).
It was surprising for us to consult similar organizations across the country and find that the majority of them also have similar problems. It was clear evidence that there is a niche in the industry for the development of technologies for social assistance programs.
Our team worked as a fine-tuned mechanism, where every member took responsibility in developing the different areas of the project. Sometimes with unanimous decisions and other times with long conversations about the best outcome for a specific pain point. However, the collaborative attitude of the crew members allowed for further development of ideas which ultimately led to the best possible outcome.
Unfortunately, to further develop this product, we would need to have financial support. I believe that with external collaboration this project could be brought to reality, making a huge impact for the community. However, every team member was also occupied with personal responsibilities, such as school and work. Which made it difficult to seek funding while we were also coping with other classes. In addition, it was likely that the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank would consider it to be too much of a financial investment in the short term. With our semester coming to a close it became unrealistic to crowdsource for external support.