FoodHub
A foodbank application/system that registers meal program data that creates an open portal for restaurants to sign in and opt in to donate food to the homeless. Furthermore it's an application that spreads awareness about these food donations to the homeless communities through a number of helpful and effective outlets; kiosks, text
Overview - Impact++ Hackathon
Timeframe
8 Hours
Tools
Figma, InVision, Illustrator
Role
Front End/UI Design, Wireframing, Prototyping, Information Architecture
Team
Jose Santos, Andrew Guterman, Luiz Porto, Vineeth Sai, Pooja Ramanathan
The Problem
Globally 1.3 billion tons of food supply is wasted annually - more than one-third of the earth’s food, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Meanwhile, according to the USDA, Washington State has the 9th highest level of hunger in the nation, 39% of people served by Washington food banks are children. Furthermore, there are chronic hunger problems within the Seattle homeless population & food wastage.
Accessibility problem in connecting homeless and low-income people with resources due to technical limitations
Current Resources
FOOD 2-1-1 Dial Service: Provides information about school lunch programs and summer food service programs for children
Food LifeLine: Food Lifeline has three methods of distribution that deliver rescued food to our partner agencies quickly and efficientlt.
Food Connection: Food bank that provides food to various communities through different organizations including the St.Leo Food Bank, Springbook Food Bank, and Food Rescue
Solution Proposal
Foodhub will a foodbank application/system that registers meal program data that creates an open portal for resaurants to sign in and opt in to donate food to the homeless. Furthermore it's an application that spreads awareness about these food donations to the homeless communities through a number of helpful and effective outlets; kiosks, text.
Our design will intervene to increase accessibility to vulnerable populations.
Our restaurant side website will register interested restaurants and we will use seattle.data.gov's food safety rating API to verify the details of the restaurant and the quality of their food. Once they get accepted, they will be able to donate food.
We have a 3-pillar information delivery method. We have text and call capability. We also have a kiosk which updates in real time.
Projected Benefits
More of the homeless population will receive effective awareness regarding readily available locations and resources
Promotes efficient sustainability and reduced waste
Reduces likelihood of homeless population dying from starvation, thus less homeless wandering around for food
User Personas
Our primary stakeholders is the hungry homeless population. Secondary stakeholders include Restaurants and households that distribute food and shelter the homeless
Wireframes
We conducted a series of rapid prototyping screens to gather an idea of how to accurately present and condense information in a manner making it easy for the user to comprehend and understand information quickly and effectively.
Furthermore, we iterated sketches of the desktop landing page tailored for users interested in donating and learning more about FoodHub
Lo-Fi Designs
We created designs focusing on the easy of guiding through our landing and sign up pages to ensure confidence in the user when going about our site. This set a critical foundation in making sure our design addresses the needs of the user while creating a unique design that is intuitive and unprecedented.
Kiosk Design + User Flow
Our Kiosk design is focused on projecting information in the quickest and easiest way possible for users the moment they view it. This is intended for users to quickly pinpoint which area is serving food and for how long. Furthermore, it allows us to maintain the design integrity of our site with the use of our dark green which contrasts well with the white text.
The landing and browsing page is intended for users who are willing to sign up or learn more about the mission of FoodHub and finding opportunities to give food or volunteer.
Style Guide
Reflection
Working on this project helped me expand my design critiques and skills when approaching every milestone in the design process. With countless iterations and user personas, it helped guide myself as a designer to effectively comprehend and understand what I was truly designing for. An important skill to have as a designer is to fully grasp and understand the scope of needs that the audience possesses. Understanding what to do along with who is it for is crucial to keep in mind as it well help improve the design process as well!