Re-Purpose: Solution for Household Food Waste

Role: Researcher, Interface Design

Tools: Figma

Team: Thu Tran, Maggie Rand, Jaryd Wallace

Re-Purpose, an innovative app designed to revolutionize meal planning and combat food waste in large households. Through our case study, we hope readers will gain a deeper understanding of the challenges surrounding food waste and the benefits of leveraging technology to create positive change in everyday life.

Problem

FOOD WASTE IS A GLOBAL ISSUE THAT OCCURS AT VARIOUS STAGE OF FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN

In this project, we aimed to create ways to reduce food waste of produce within residential spaces through composting methods. This is for households while considering retailers, keeping in mind that grocery and retail create additional factors to residential food waste. We aimed to create a better habit for people when engaging in produce consumption.

In the United States, food waste is estimated at between 30%–40% of the food supply.

About 96% of households food waste was in landfills, combusted, or sent into the sewers.

Solution Overview

Research

INTERVIEW

Speaking with 5 member's from each household, we realized that many shoppers make unplanned purchases, often without a clear understanding of the problems associated with food waste, but there is a desire to reduce the environmental impact of wasted food.

SURVEY

We've distributed a survey regarding shopping and composting habits to 17 households. We aim to gather insights into their routines and practices in these areas to better understand consumer behavior and environmental consciousness within our community.

Define

PERSONAS

Through interviews and surveys, we crafted two personas focusing on distinct aspects of daily life. One persona delves into household composting challenges, shedding light on pain points and opportunities for improvement in waste management. The other persona explores shopping and food consumption habits, revealing insights that inform strategies for enhancing sustainability and efficiency in these areas.

AFFINITY MAP

We focused on bringing parts of all these patterns together because they were already inherently intertwined. They intersect in how people’s lack of education and understanding of composting leads to them not knowing how to deal with food waste, which is generated through their shopping and consuming habits.

NEED STATEMENT

How might we help Maria, Dana, and their families to plan their groceries and spread education and awareness about composting, taking the food they consume and their eating habits into account?

Concept and Solution

Re-Purpose: Solution for Household Food Waste

Re-Purpose is a family-focused mobile app that combines meal planning, grocery management, and compost tracking to help households reduce food waste and live more sustainably. Designed for a family of four, the app suggests meals based on what’s in your kitchen, generates grocery lists, and reminds users of expiring food that can be used or composted.

Features

Meals: Plan weekly meals and get recipe suggestions using available ingredients.

Shop: Auto-generate and share grocery lists across family members.

Compost Tracker: Activate and track compost progress while earning eco-points.

Profile: Sync family preferences and manage app settings.

HOME

The Home page gives families a quick snapshot of their kitchen activity. Users can see meal suggestions, what’s running low or expiring soon, and shortcuts to shopping or compost tracking. It’s the central hub that connects all features — helping families stay organized, plan ahead, and make the most of their food before it goes to waste.

MEALS PLANNING

The app suggests recipes, allows you to save favorites, and add meals to your weekly planner

Manage your grocery list and track what you have in stock. Add items manually or from meal plans, check them off while shopping, and sync lists with family members to avoid duplicates.

Track food freshness and get alerts for items nearing expiration. Use quick actions to cook them, compost them, or add replacements to your list.

GROCERIES AND FOOD WASTE REDUCE

Manage your grocery list and track what you have in stock. Add items manually or from meal plans, check them off while shopping, and sync lists with family members to avoid duplicates.

Track food freshness and get alerts for items nearing expiration. Use quick actions to cook them, compost them, or add replacements to your list.

COMPOST

Monitor your household’s composting and waste habits in one place. Activate your compost bin to start tracking food scraps, view your eco-impact, and earn rewards for consistent composting. The app also reminds you when expiring items can be composted instead of thrown away

User Testing and Next Step

We've decided to test our app with individuals we've interviewed, specifically targeting those with large families. This group offers valuable insights into how our app functions within the dynamics of larger households. By observing their experiences and feedback, we aim to ensure that our app meets the diverse needs of families of varying sizes.

Positive

Users quickly found and were excited about the rewards system, showing a strong interest in incentives linked to their consumption habits.
The app’s seamless connection to the smart bin impressed users, who valued the innovative rewards for waste reduction.
All users showed strong intent to integrate the app into their routines, seeing its potential for streamlining shopping, meal planning, and food tracking to reduce waste.

Screenshot 2024-04-22 at 6_edited_edited

Negative

One user suggested a preference for a navigation sidebar rather than the bottom navigation, indicating potential usability improvements.
Despite overall positive reception, it's important to note that no feedback was provided on specific areas for improvement or additional features desired, which may suggest a lack of detailed feedback on potential enhancements.

NEXT STEP

Based on the feedback gathered from user testing, it's encouraging to see that the majority of participants demonstrated a clear understanding of the app's features and expressed genuine interest in its functionality. The positive response to the food planner's ability to aid meal planning and reduce food waste highlights its potential value in users' daily lives. After testing, we can change based on the feedback and keep testing to see further result.