With the support of industry leaders and expert partners, this body of work investigates and proposes innovative solutions to transform our food economy.
Future of Food Security
Twenty students at IIT Institute of Design partnered with Feeding America leaders to rethink current systems for facilitating food access. Researching the successes and unmet opportunities of senior housing, food banks and Meals on Wheels, the project team revealed several design principles to guide Feeding America in building alternative futures for delivering their services. The designers emphasized flexible, multi-purpose, and holistic approaches to effectively meet the needs of more seniors.
Sponsored by Feeding America
“My work is not just reading and thinking about things - this is a global network of leaders, designers, stakeholders brought together to build innovative solutions that can be applied across industries and communities.”
Carlos Teixeira
Future of Food Manufacturing
Food manufacturing is a complex ecosystem driven by a plethora of stakeholders and–sometimes competing–objectives related to scale of production; volatility in the supply chain; access to labor; and emerging technology. Evolving global and individual interest in the environment, health, quality of life, and equitable access to good food are layered onto the manufacturing infrastructure to sway or create new demands. For example, the United Nations launched Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015.
New technology affords unprecedented possibilities for optimization and customization in food manufacturing, Taking a design approach to this problem, students came up with speculative scenarios for five environments of food consumption: flights, hospitals, schools, fast food, and vending machines. From there, they identified three enablers for optimization for customization: a hybrid supply chain; transparent information flows; and add-on technology that supports traceability and product enhancement.
Sponsored by Design Lab Hitachi America R & D
Sustainable Food Sourcing Solutions
This work shows that policy, by itself, is a necessary but insufficient means to systemic change. Using the human-centered design matrix of usability-feasibility-desirability, the project team developed concepts for new infrastructures that were then prototyped for the Good Food Purchasing Program. The infrastructures prototyped in this work represent feasible pathways towards equity and sustainability for the Good Food Purchasing Program and other industry stakeholders looking to transform our food economy. The project’s final report outlines sustainable solutions designers believe could create systemic change, transforming the food ecosystem of Chicago from one in which low prices and mass quantities prevail, to one focused on collaboration and justice.
Partners: Good Food Purchasing Program
