Envisioning Sustainable Food
Sourcing Solutions

Shifting the focus from low prices and mass quantities to collaboration and justice

Few essential systems are as invisible to consumers as the food production and distribution infrastructure in the US. Shoppers take for granted that produce, meats, and packaged foods will be waiting for them at the grocery store, and diners are largely unaware of the journey their restaurant meal took to get to their plates.

But to designers, these complex systems are ripe for study—and improvement. After all, the modern food ecosystem relies on outdated industrial agriculture practices and prioritizes low prices and mass quantities over collaboration and justice—to say nothing of issues of equity, accessibility, quality, nutrition, animal welfare, and fair labor. Frameworks like the Good Food Purchasing Program (GFPP) allow public institutions to leverage their buying power to drive systemic change. But policy isn’t practice.

AWARDS

 

  • Harini Balasubramanian
    Justin Bartkus
    Justin Walker
    Todd Cooke
    Jessica DeMeester
    Audrey Gordon
    Grace Hanford
    Alvin Jin
    Zhongyang Li
    Shuyi Liu
    Jason Romano
    McKinley Sherrod
    Brian Siegfried
    J Smyk
    Yutian Sun
    Xiaoqiao Tang
    Shiya Xiao
    Wanshan Wu
    Yueyue Yang
    Andreya Veintimilla

  • Carlos Teixeira

  • Hendriana Werdhaningsih

  • Zach Pino

    • Center for Good Food Purchasing

    • Chicago Department of Public Health | Jennifer Herd

    • Chicago Food Policy Action Council | Rodger Cooley, Marlie Wilson, & Aasia Castañeda

    • Chicago Park District | Rebecca Tsolakides

    • Chicago Public School | Harold Chapman

    • IIT Stuart School of Business | Weslynne Ashton

    • YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago | Marjorie Kersten & Meg Helder

    • New Futures Lab (Fabri-Kal) | Bill Robinson & Kate Robinson

 

System of Solutions:

 
 

Localizing Food Production 

Increasing the supply of food available within Chicago through a network of local, urban farms is a sustainable way to offset the negative impacts of food transportation. These farms would provide meaningful, equitable work for those living in historically disinvested communities while repurposing the city’s stagnant brownfields. Connected, intelligent systems lower barriers to entry, all while monitoring nutrient quality and environmental sustainability.

 
 

SOIL AND LIGHT SENSOR KIT
Real-time data on light quality, soil moisture, PH, and temperature populate the smart profile of the lot and its associated crops.

PRODUCTION PLANNER
Coupling farm-level sensor data with projections for institutional demand enables farmers to sync their production schedules to meet local supply needs.

DIGITAL TRACKING
Each food package contains a unique identifier to validate its movement. Once the package is scanned, the information is added to the blockchain for verified transparency throughout the supply chain.

 
 

Flexible, Traceable Distribution

In service of a fully accountable supply chain, packages are tracked throughout hyper-local modes of transit. End-users verify their order arrived as expected and contribute knowledge to the network. Transactions are supported by smart contracts that allow individual actors to join the ecosystem.

 
 

DIGITAL TRACKING
Each food package contains a unique identifier to validate its movement. Once the package is scanned, the information is added to the blockchain for verified transparency throughout the supply chain.

SMARTPHONE SCAN
Buyers confirm delivery by scanning the delivery device with their smartphone using near-field communication. This confirmation is shared with the seller and prompts the delivery verification process. All information is recorded in the blockchain.

EBIKE DELIVERY
For short-range deliveries (i.e. from urban farms and kitchens) electric bicycles are used for low-emissions delivery.

 
 

Smart Consumption

By understanding what foods people want to eat, farmers and suppliers can be better informed about what to grow. Likewise, people can investigate the source of food to make better-informed choices. Food consistently not consumed is also noted by the system, enabling a shift to alternative options.

 
 

VENDING MACHINES
To support meal-service locations that don’t have kitchens, and supplement those that do, vending machines pair consumer choice with preference data to inform procurement decisions.

REUSABLE FOOD CONTAINERS
When the vending machines are restocked, the previous day’s empty containers are taken back, washed, and re-used, creating a closed-loop system.

FOOD LABELS
QR code labels enable food consumers to access the farm-to-table journey of each ingredient and see a meal’s aggregate nutrition profile.

SMART WASTE BINS
Smart waste bins measure and identify food waste to determine sources of waste and generate strategies for waste reduction.