Miranda Capezzuto
One Village
Addressing food insecurity in Austin in partnership with Austin Free Fridge
​
Duration 6 months
Team 3 designers
Tools Mural, Miro, Figma, Dovetail, Notion
Skills Strategy, Research, UI, Prototyping, Testing, Advocacy
Challenge Create a sustainable, service that assists people experiencing food insecurity access desirable, nutritious to food
Solution Framework for combination of automated text messaging and a web app that educates donors on what non-profit food programs need, that provides specific donation suggestions to combat analysis paralysis, and provides people accessing food programs with information on available resources
Background
Accessing food insecurity programs can be difficult, and as Austin grows, so does the population of people experiencing food insecurity and seeking these programs.
1 in 7 people in Travis County are currently facing food insecurity
Central Texas has a higher percentage of food insecure households than most of the country.
Research
Our team wanted to better understand the barriers people with food insecurity are facing to access affordable food and the impact of this on their lives. We conducted 14, hour-long, contextual interviews with subject matter experts in local government, organizers of different food assistance programs, and people within our community experiencing food insecurity.
“It’s hard to qualify for a lot of services. The cost of living is so high, even if I make enough to pay my bills, I’m still struggling because there's more needs that need to be met beyond just the basics of rent and utilities.”
​
-Austin resident experiencing food insecurity
​
“We have no barriers to access, no enrollment is required, no income thresholds, and no time restrictions for use. We’re filling the gap and providing resources to people who have little trust in institutions, are undocumented, or struggling financially but don’t qualify for assistance.”
​
-Organizer at Austin Free Fridge
Synthesis
We quickly learned how difficult finding suitable programs can be for people in difficult situations. Our participants experiencing food insecurity also told us that accessing these programs can be confusing, intake processes can create feelings of alienation from their community, and that the eligibility processes can be invasive.
Journey mapping accessing programs from need to meal
Card sorting activity and relational mapping activity
Our Pilot Partner
The Austin Free Fridge is a mutual solidarity organization that addressed a lot of the pain points our participants experiencing food insecurity reported. Free Fridge is a network of 6 fridges and pantries organized and maintained by volunteers that offers 24/7 freely available fridges in neighborhoods throughout the city where people can take what they need and leave what they don’t, without scrutiny.
​
Further Research and Synthesis into Free Fridge
The Free Fridge relies most heavily on volunteers and donations, which makes it a valuable but inconsistent resource for people who need consistency. We focused our research on interviewing people experiencing food insecurity and the organizations that assist them and found that donors through either misguided efforts or in absence were the biggest barrier.
Synthesizing
The Biggest Barriers to Donating
Donating to the Free Fridge can be inconvenient, and people are often unaware of donation guidelines
People don't know how to give: they give what they themselves don't value and expect others to be grateful
It's hard for people interested in volunteering to turn thought into action
Solution
We designed web app to provide to create a space for the community to share information, combined with an automated text service that provides guidance of what people accessing the fridges needed.
Low, mid, high level prototypes
Testing
We validated interest in our concept with a survey for interest in our texting feature with the Free Fridge's Instagram, receiving 148 sign ups within the first 24 hours. We sent out 393 messages over five weeks, asking for pictures of donations as confirmation.
Test Message
Outcome
-
Over 30 confirmed donations that were directly linked and in response to our messages with anecdotal evidence from organizers of more donations than average
-
Text messaging and specific item lists led to more donations
-
3 confirmed instances of participants requesting information
We received received signals our solution was addressing pain points and becoming a valued feature by the community:
"Three friends and I pooled our money, and dropped off 24 sandwiches from HEB, 30 yogurts, 48 cheese sticks, 2 cases of bottled water, bags of chips, packets of carrots, orange cups, wipes, shampoo, body wash, and toothbrush/paste kits. Thanks!!"
​
“Every time I’m there, folks are waiting on me to unload. No matter the time of day. I so deeply appreciate having the invitation to show up however and whenever I am able and would like.”
​
"How can my friend opt in to these messages?"
​
Reflections
This project validated the importance of co-creating and ideating with members of the community and the value of designing sustainably. Future work would involve work with other organizations and to create a framework of our learnings that could be adapted and integrated for other community services.
​
