（Click the image to view prototype 😊）

Fridge Bridge - Reduce Food Waste and Food Insecurity

Hackathon Winning Project | Product Design | Concept Design

Project Overview

Context

Fridge Bridge is made from a 2-day UX Hackathon, held by UX@UW and Figma. The project was completed in 24 hrs, and won the “Most Impactful Idea” prize. Our team was made up of 2 Product Designers, 1 Product Manager and 1 UX Researcher. I worked as a Product Designer for this project.

 

The Problem Between Too Much And Too Little

$200 billion 

spent on food that will never be eaten

273k tons

of edible food is wasted by WA residents annually

1 in 8 Americans

experiences food insecurity

 

“How might we reduce the amount of edible food wasted and mitigate food insecurity by bridging people who have excess and people who have too little?”

 

Who Do We Serve?

 

How Does Our Solution Meet Their Goals?

Researching

Desk Research

We first conducted some secondary research to gain data insights regarding food waste and food insecurity in Washington and in the U.S. The research validated the values of our product.

 

Competitive Analysis

We analyzed the pros and cons of several existing solutions to inspire our design strategies. The main challenges were how to ensure food donated by individuals is safe and how to make sure recipients get access to the right amount of food.

 

User Interviews

Before we started designing, we interviewed with 4 participants to further understand their needs. Interview questions included these main areas: Previous experience on donating and/or receiving food, Pain points regarding donating and/or receiving food, Motivations to donate and/or receive food.

Key Insights:

  • Give incentive to donators.

  • Let both donators and recipients be aware of the positive impact of their engagement.

  • Set up reasonable time limits for donators to drop off food and for recipients to pick up food.

Ideation & Designing

Combining all the key insights from research, we mapped out the user flow for both donators and recipients, brainstormed the operating model of Fridge Bridge, sketched out key frames to visualize our ideas, and then created hi-fi wireframes to show the end-to-end experience for donators and recipients.

 

User Flow

 

Challenges

  • How to make the donating process as simple as possible?

  • How to ensure the safety of food after it is donated?

  • How to ensure the quality of food to the greatest extent?

  • How to ensure recipients have access to the right amount of food?

 

Envisioned Solution

Operating a Fridge Bridge:

Our tentative idea is to partner with chain stores and/or grocery stores, such as Target and Whole Food, to install Fridge Bridges at their locations. Our donators and recipients can enter the one-time code we send them via our app and messages to access the Fridge Bridge to drop off or pick up food.

Some Settings:

  • Donators need to drop off food within 12 hrs.

  • 4 food items maximum inside a box.

  • Recipients can reserve 1 box at a time.

  • Recipients need to pick up food within 1 hr.

 

Sketches

 

Hi-fi Wireframes

Design Solution

How to Share Your Excess Food?

  • Sign in as a donator.

  • Read instructions to start.

  • Upload donated food images and enter relevant info.

  • Select a Fridge Bridge and receive a one-time code to drop your food.

  • Drop your food within 12 hours.

  • Receive incentive for donation.

 

How to Get Access to Safe & Quality Food?

  • Sign in as a recipient.

  • Read instructions to start.

  • Select a Fridge Bridge near you.

  • Make a reservation on an available box in the Fridge Bridge and receive a one-time code.

  • Pick up food inside the box within 1 hour.

  • See how you contribute to reducing food waste.

Thinking About Business

About the 💰

Sales Model

1) Monthly subscription:

  • Fixed monthly cost.

  • We will install FridgeBridge at your location.

  • No maintenance required from partner.

  • Cancel anytime.

2) One-time purchase:

  • Receive whitelabeled FridgeBridge at your location.

  • We will install FridgeBridge at your location.

  • Basic support provided.

  • API to add to your mobile app.

 

What’s in it for the partners?

  • Additional marketing avenue.

  • More footfall in stores.

  • Increased sales.

  • Measurable impact created.

  • Direct contributions to reducing food waste.

Costs to Fridge Bridge

  • Product development

  • App development

  • Manufacturing

  • Maintenance

Going Forward

Reflections

  • There’s some quantity limitation and time limitation I set up within the flow. Donators need to drop their food at a Fridge Bridge within 12 hours because we want to guarantee the quality of food. Recipients need to pick up their food within 1 hour because we want to ensure people who really need food would have access to it. There're 4 food items maximum inside a box in a Fridge Bridge and recipients can only reserve a box at a time. This is to make sure recipients get access to the right amount of food and make the operation of a Fridge Bridge as simple as possible. This is the best solution I can bring forward within 24 hours. However, if we have more time, we can try to make the process of donating and receiving food more flexible and personalized.

  • This was the first time I participated in a Hackathon, meeting these great teammates and winning the prize in the end really made me feel my passion for product design. My teammates and I are very proud of this project and are continuing meeting up regularly to try to complete the project further. We are now conducting card sorting and planning usability test, and we hope to iterate on the design based on research insights.

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