F.R.E.S.H.
I worked on a team of four as a part of the MIT chapter of Design for America to design F.R.E.S.H. (Families Receiving Essential Supplies against Hunger), a 24-hour access food locker system to address local hunger in Boston. After interviewing members of several soup kitchens in Boston, we discovered that limited food pantry hours greatly reduced access to food assistance, as there are no food pantries locally open before 10am or after 6:30pm. As a result, those holding a job were unable to make it to the food pantry, and the food pantry was unable to fully address the needs of the community.
We partnered with Lovin' Spoonfuls, a food rescue organization that redistributes unsold produce to food pantries, and Haley House, a local soup kitchen and food pantry. Together, we designed F.R.E.S.H., a system of food lockers to be implemented at Haley House to allow those working a job to pick up a pre-bundled package of fresh produce and perishables.
We developed a preliminary prototype, pitched the product to both organizations and professors and professionals working in related fields, and identified a preliminary user base.
Link: http://designforamerica.mit.edu/projects
Group Project: Team Member
Fall 2014 - Spring 2015
Hours of local food pantries in Boston / Cambridge
Food pantry graphic by James Robinson