My little story #1
I'm good at thinking rationally and drawing inferences about other cases from one instance.
NORMALISE SURPLUS FOOD EXCHANGE
This is a group project at GSA Innovation School.
Project task: “to co-design a preferable future of local, nature-based enterprise in Glasgow to enhance Glasgow’s climate change adaptation, social cohesion and sustainable economic development while connecting to global dialogues and challenges of environmental sustainability”.
Our topic is food in Glasgow.
My Role
A service designer: I led the desk research, user research, data analysis, critical thinking, creative design, output and presentation.
A team leader:
- Facilitated communication and mediated conflicts.
- Orchestrated project processes through planning, task assignments, and reviews.
- Guided the team and made pivotal design decisions
Expertise & Skills
Service Design
Desk Research
User Research
Critical Thinking
User Experience Design
Location
Glasgow, UK
Timeline
Mar. 2022 – May. 2022
Team Member
Yixin Wang, Xiangyi Chen, Sabrina Barrios Fernandez, Yinghui Peng
Opportunity
Fresh food ingredients are the most surplus food consumed by households and food retailers in Glasgow. However, local food redistribution organisations do not accept donations of surplus fresh ingredients due to food safety and storage issues. The main challenge is how to redistribute the surplus fresh ingredients.
Solution
We advocate normalising surplus food exchanges, with a focus on the student community, particularly international students. We establish convenient exchange points in collaboration with student accommodations and schools to convert surplus fresh ingredients into juices, maximizing food usage and promoting healthier meals among students.
Impact
We criticise the service model of food welfare organisations like food banks, aiming to reduce food waste and bridge the wealth gap by shifting food service model from a top-down approach to an equitable exchange model through materials or labour.
Context
When many people in the UK are facing food insecurity, a huge amount of food available for people consumed is being wasted, resulting in economic loss and environmental pollution.
Research
1. Desk Research: Glasgow Food Map
Problems
Surplus fresh, refrigerated and frozen food that is about to expire is not being donated or used.
The imbalance between the type and amount of food that is being donated and needed.
How to reduce the amount of surplus food that the catering industries and retail food produce?
We conducted a second-hand study of food in Glasgow. We analysed where the different types of surplus food come from and how they are disposed of. At the same time, we also did case studies on major local organisations. Then, we came out with some problems.
According to the food waste pyramid, in order to make the best use of food and avoid waste, we should use up food at the redistribution stage and prevent it from going to the recycling stage. Therefore, we focused on the redistribution of surplus food.
2. User Research
We did questionnaires in Glasgow and interviews with a local supermarket manager (Waitrose), in order to understand the food surplus situation.
In summary, it was found that the largest amount of surplus food types were fresh food ingredients, both in households and food retailers. People also lack access to surplus food and awareness of how to make the most of it.
3. Food Redistribution Map in Glasgow
We analysed the surplus food redistribution process in Glasgow. Although fresh surplus food was the most quantity, charities did not accept donations due to food safety and storage issues. Also, individuals on the platform rarely made fresh food donations.
Problem Definition
So, how to redistribute fresh surplus ingredients is one of the most significant local issues in Glasgow.
We summarised the food redistribution process into three key elements:
Surplus food donor
How to deal with the surplus food
Surplus food receiver
We needed further research to grasp the needs and pain points of our target audience. Simultaneously, the question of preserving fresh ingredients and ensuring the safety of redistributed food is a challenge.
Define
Target Users——Local Student Population
After several rounds of research and brainstorming, we focused on the local student population in Glasgow, especially international students.
We did questionnaires and culture probes to gain insights into users’ habits, thoughts and emotions about surplus food and food waste. After analysing the data, we did follow-up interviews to delve deeper into the reseasons behind their actions and thoughts.
Queationnaire and Interview
Personas
Based on the findings, we came up with two typical personas and a map of the donor’s journey to find their pain points for innovative design.
Key Insights
The most wasted food categories are vegetables and fruit, usually not eaten in time because of
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buying too much and having a habit of stocking up,
-
being hard to store,
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forgetting it,
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not having time and being too lazy to cook it.
Many students are willing to exchange their surplus food for other vegetable ingredients and fruits and products made from surplus vegetables and fruits because it can help
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save money,
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reduce waste,
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have easy access to ready-to-eat food if it is easily accessible.
Persona 1—— Surplus Food Donor
User Journey Map —— Surplus Food Donor
Persona 2—— Surplus Food Receiver
How might we design a service
to motivate students
to donate and accept surplus fresh vegetables and fruits
in a more convenient way,
that helps to reduce food waste and protect the environment?
to motivate students
to donate and accept surplus fresh vegetables and fruits
in a more convenient way,
that helps to reduce food waste and protect the environment?
Ideation
Collaboration With Key Stakeholders
In our efforts to address surplus food, we conducted stakeholder research, which led us to discover potential opportunities through interviews with the Vita student residence.
Vita student accommodation provides free breakfast for students during workdays. At the same time, they have enough space, staff and storage facilities. They also expressed the willingness to accept ideas and recommendations to help students reduce food waste.
Consequently, we try to collaborate with Vita to accept high-quality surplus vegetables and fruits from students and check and use them when making breakfast for students.
Brand Design
Brand Design and Value Proposition
Storyboard
System Map & Sustainable Development
Use surplus food to make juices. Then, the residue and biodegradable cups are converted to fertilizer for farming.
Business Canvas
Design co-creation clubs and communities to strengthen relationships with our target customers and cultivate additional potential customers. We tried to normalise the exchange of surplus food to create value and revenue through our low-cost, healthy, sustainable juice products.
Future Development
Normalising surplus food exchange is a core value. By collaborating with different stakeholders, we were able to develop different models to reduce food waste in Glasgow’s student population.
In interviews with catering services and student environmental organisations at the University of Glasgow, we created two models that could be developed in the future.
In addition, during the Glasgow Food Waste Campaign, official organisations expressed the need to develop policies related to surplus food.
Future Development Model - 1
The UofG catering services procure safe surplus fresh fruits and vegetables from food redistribution agencies at low prices and make them into juices which are sold to students at low prices while playing a monitoring role.
UofG James McCune- Catering Services ：
Provide staff, facilities and space,
Get increased number of customers.
FareShare & Grocery Stores：
Food redistribution agencies can provide safe surplus food at a low cost for some projects.
Glasgow City Food Map & Zero Waste Scotland:
Review food security policies to regulate the safety of surplus food to get more food retailers on board with surplus food projects.
Future Development Model - 2
Students can exchange surplus food and get free juice products through the facilities in the school public area managed by GUEST.
GUEST：
Provide volunteers.
Provide funding for small student projects.
“Biodiversity Gardens Project” can provide ingredients.
Fridge Community Project” can provide facilities.
We have the same values and aims.
“GUEST” try to proactively enhance and facilitate the collaboration of staff, students and local community to promote sustainability and to promote the University’s institutional self-awareness of sustainability as it journeys towards becoming a recognised champion of environmentalism.
Try To Do more
With a central core of normalising surplus food exchange, focusing on different groups of people and expanding collaboration with stakeholders, we can develop more models to reduce food waste.
Future Impacts
Environmentally
Protect the environment by conserving landfill space and decreasing methane and other greenhouse gas emissions.
Maximise the use of surplus fruit and vegetables in a sustainable way.
Socially
Raise awareness of the need to reduce food waste.
Normalise the exchange and use of surplus food.
Reduce the negative feelings of people who receive free food from charities.
Build a sharing community and strengthen community resilience.
Improve the service and experience of some organisations.
Promote fair food for all.
Economically
Build a sustainable food system that benefits the local economy.
Provide further opportunities for local suppliers and stimulate the local economy.
Use local food to reduce food imports and add value to the local economy.
Future Challenges
Restrictions on surplus food safety regulation and policy.
How to strengthen the bonds between organisations.
How to improve the efficiency and safety of the supply chain.
How to monitor the surplus food products and services.
How to manage labour, transport, and facilities costs.
Reflection
Challenges in the design
While doing stakeholders reserches, we tried to talk with Food Bank, however, the staff refused our requests because vulnerable people are very sensitive. Moreover, we were stuck in thinking about how to help vulnerable groups. Afterwards, by switching the target audience, we found new world. It is easy to be trapped into a fixed mindset by existing related cases and projectswhen doing innovative design, and designers should try to think outside the box and try from different perspectives when we couldn’t find ways out.
At the same time, due to cultural differences, misunderstandings in the members’ perception of time led to a cold war and brought the group’s project to a standstill. Then, I took the initiative to carry out communication, and encouraged everyone to express the stigma and ideas inside as a role of a bridge, dissolving the gap and reuniting the team. Besides, due to a new consensual design direction, all of us are full of motivation and energy. Communication is the most crucial in teamwork.
Critical thinking from the foodbank
We conducted a deep reflection on the Food Bank. Vlaholias et al. (2015) concluded that “Food Banks may be perpetuating and in some cases exacerbating inequality through this concept of the unreciprocated ‘gift’ (Mauss, 1990).” This model can leave the people who receive the food donations to get feelings of embarrassment, shame, humiliation and perceived stigma (Middleton et al., 2018). In addressing social hunger, psychosocial issues occurred. The emergence of food banks is also a sign that the upper classes in society have an endless supply of food while the vulnerable do suffer from hunger. When a society does not need a food bank, it is probably a sign that it is getting better. So, we should address the issue of surplus food in a more positive and sustainable way.
Mauss, 1990 1950 M. Mauss The gift: The form and reason for exchange in archaic societies Routledge Classics, London (1990 [1950])
Vlaholias, E. g., Thompson, K., Every, D. and Dawson, D. 2015. Reducing food waste through charity: exploring the giving and receiving of redistributed food In: Envisioning a future without food waste and food poverty.
