DESIGNING TECHNOLOGY TO ADDRESS HUNGER
Hunger cannot be solved by technology alone, but together, we can design technology to solve problems, improve systems, and help find resources. This project will bring together communities and coders to imagine solutions that solve local problems.
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WHAT WE ARE DOING
As part of Caravan Studios' methodology, our team holds events where communities convene to consider how technology might solve problems. While collaborating and learning together, experts in the issue area design low-fi prototypes that solve local problems. Along with community collaborators like public libraries, we share their ideas broadly so communities can provide useful feedback that informs technology designs.
Scroll through these community-designed prototypes to inspire solutions of your own. If you’re a developer, a designer, or curious about these issues, get in touch with questions or ideas you might have.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT
Our team invites developers to share their social change technology with nonprofits and community stakeholders so that we can learn about new tools, provide community feedback, and learn from those who are designing for good.
Be inspired by the following tech and developer demos that address food insecurity in creative ways.
A free, easy-to-use reservation system for food pantries and the people they serve.
The simple, text-based service connects kids and families in need with stigma free prepaid, nutritious, to-go meals from nearby restaurants. *
MealConnect helps to save food that previously might have gone to waste — such as a small load of meat from a local butcher or a box of tomatoes from a farmers market.
The official app from the UN World Food Programme where you can feed a child for one day with just $.80
A free app for community members and food banks to order free groceries quickly and discreetly online. Co-created with and for food banks.
Businesses schedule on demand pickups for surplus food and donated food is delivered directly to those experiencing food insecurity.
Connecting people in critical need with volunteers to provide free delivery of essential items.
We are tackling food insecurity by linking home gardeners with hunger relief organizations.
A free, quick and easy app designed to show people where they can find food assistance in Marion County.
Get massive savings on fresh food items like meat and produce that are nearing their best before date at grocery stores across Canada and the U.S.
An online platform allowing those in need to order food from family-owned restaurants funded by our generous donors.
This web site connects community members to local social service resources like housing, food resources, mental health resources, financial assistance, and more.
Anyone with an EBT card can discreetly check and manage their SNAP balance with ease and access local coupons, special offers, resources, and jobs.
This mobile app finds where free meals are served to school-aged youth when school is out of session during the summer.
Community members can order free food from participating restaurants via SMS. Philanthropic partners cover the cost, and restaurants help feed the most vulnerable in their community.
Fueled by PostMates Civic Labs, this app helps restaurants reduce food waste while helping others by making meal delivery donations to local organizations that assist vulnerable communities.
Enable gardeners and local- food enthusiasts to share ideas, questions, events and extra homegrown produce.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
We talked to folks at pantries and food banks across the U.S. to learn how these organizations operate and to uncover what technology assistance might help them serve their community better.
Here are a few opportunities where technology might be able to create more efficiency.
CLIENT CHOICE
How might we support clients having the freedom to select the food they want?
The advent of the pandemic informed a greater need for clients to choose in advance the food they require. Selecting only what you need instead of getting a pre-made box also reduces food waste and helps food providers track which products their clients desire. And, if inventory were connected to the food clients select, this timely connection could ease the time and labor spent managing and updating inventory.
RECORDING CLIENT DATA
How might we manage data more efficiently?
Organizations collect client data such as identification, number of people in their household, or proof of residence for grant and federal food program reporting. For small organizations, this is a pen and paper exercise that might remain on paper or be entered into a spreadsheet later. Paper records can slow down processes and make locating repeat visitor information, orders, or special requests a challenge, not to mention the client's extra work of repeat sign ins.
INVENTORY TRACKING
How might we improve inventory tracking and reporting systems?
Organizations are required by some funders to record the weight of food received and distributed. Smaller organizations track this information by pen and paper and then record it later into spreadsheets, duplicating the time and effort it takes to record this important data.
The aim of this project is to match community expertise with technology imagination to share, design, and build tools that address food insecurity in communities supported by Truist banks.
This project is part of a multi-phased grant funded by the Truist Foundation. Thanks to Truist for their generosity and the freedom to identify new ways of helping nonprofits address this critical need.
Truist Bank, Member FDIC. 2020 Truist Financial Corporation. Truist, the Truist logo and Truist. Purple are service marks of Truist Financial Corporation.
Join us!
If you work in food security or this project interests you, please get in touch with us.
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