Revolutionizing campus nutrition with AI-driven solutions to tackle food insecurity among college students
Food insecurity impacts 92% of college students, with 70% experiencing very low food security, according to USDA standards. It’s a significant barrier to academic success, affecting nutrition, mental health, and financial stability. Students face challenges such as limited budgets, lack of time, and inadequate knowledge of nutrition and meal planning.
This project aims to leverage AI and technology to provide tailored solutions that address these issues while promoting sustainable and healthy eating practices.
College students in Indiana who struggle with food insecurity, time management, and budget constraints.
We proposed an AI-powered mobile app that provides:
Our solution addresses immediate and long-term challenges, fostering healthier and more sustainable food habits.
Food insecurity significantly impacts college students across the U.S., affecting their academic success, mental health, and overall well-being. Recent research highlights the following alarming statistics:
To better understand the challenges surrounding food insecurity among college students, we conducted comprehensive primary research. This included surveys and interviews to gather insights into their experiences, needs, and behaviors. Our findings provided valuable data to inform targeted solutions.
Our thorough investigation aimed to uncover the root causes of food insecurity among students. Initially, we anticipated that financial constraints would be the primary driver. However, our findings revealed a complex interplay of issues, even for students receiving scholarships, financial aid, or family support:
Our process involved an in-depth analysis of existing studies, reports, and surveys that shed light on the experiences of students in the education sector, with a specific focus on financial challenges and the unique aspects of international student life. Through a thorough examination of available data, we identified common issues faced by these student groups, including but not limited to food insecurity, budget management, and the academic pressure associated with maintaining scholarship requirements. This secondary research provided a comprehensive foundation for crafting accurate and representative personas that reflect the nuanced challenges and goals within the educational landscape.
How might we address the time constraints, nutritional unawareness, and budgeting challenges faced by individuals, particularly college students?
During our brainstorming session, each team member contributed their ideas to address the food insecurity challenges faced by students. Initially, we came up with over 10 potential solutions, ranging from meal delivery services to community-based cooking workshops. We then evaluated each idea based on several criteria: feasibility, financial viability, and technological implementation.
To assist students in making informed and cost-effective choices during grocery shopping.
To empower students to plan nutritious meals within their budget constraints.
To tackle the bigger problems like not knowing much about food and not having time.
To solve the problem of not having enough food and the cost of buying more.
Storyboarding is a pivotal tool in User Experience design, offering a unique blend of visual storytelling and problem-solving. It plays a crucial role in shaping the user's journey through a product or service in a manner that respects originality and creativity. Enabling us to map out user interactions and experiences in a sequential format storyboarding aids us by visually representing different stages of interaction, from initial engagement to task completion. This helps in crafting intuitive interfaces that prioritize user satisfaction and efficiency.
We organized app content to prioritize user needs, focusing on features like nutritional tracking, meal planning, and community resources. The user flow was designed for intuitive paths to core tasks, including onboarding, ingredient tracking, meal suggestions, and sponsor connections.
A high-fidelity prototype showcasing detailed designs of features such as the nutritional dashboard and personalized alerts was developed. This prototype was prepared for user testing to gather feedback and iterate on the design.
Flows Demonstrated:
Our team conducted iterative usability testing sessions with target users to evaluate the high-fidelity prototype. Focused on assessing the ease of navigation, clarity of features, and overall user experience related to key tasks, such as tracking ingredients, meal planning, and accessing community resources.
Based on user feedback, we refined our design until it reached optimal levels of user satisfaction. Adjustments included improving the nutritional dashboard layout, simplifying task flows, and making alerts for expiring ingredients more intuitive.
Users had the following to say about our final design:
As part of my process, I dissect the project at its conclusion to analyze what went well and identify areas for improvement. Much like a surgeon performing a post-mortem to understand critical issues, I believe a UX professional must do the same to refine processes for future projects.
Here are some areas I believe we could have improved as a team:
