Boko Box
A meal solution that empowers college students at Texas State to eat healthily. Boko Box takes advantage of food waste that already exists on campus and utilizes it to feed lower-income students.
My role in this project was primarily in research and design.
Tools
Figma, Illustrator, Photoshop
Skills
Product Design, UX/UI, Design Research, Wireframing
Duration
8-week design research & ideation
Team
Farrah Nobles, Bandera Barter, Joshua Turner, Brandy Compton
Overview
College students are notorious for eating a diet that consists primarily of junk food- this is often due to junk food being the cheapest option available. Especially when students may own little to no cooking utensils and may be living without a kitchen.
Boko Box is a resource for all students that transforms leftovers from the many buffet eateries around campus into meals that are accessible to everyone.
Canditch was created to educate consumers on their fashion waste and provide a resource for purchasing sustainable fashion.
Objective
Provide healthy options for students who otherwise would not have a meal.
Reduce the food waste that currently prevalent on campus.
Improve the accessibility of current food pantry resources.
Food Insecurity At Texas State
78.4% of students at Texas State belong to a traditionally food insecure demographic
40% of students at American colleges belong to a traditionally food insecure demographic
When surveyed 51% of students at Texas State said they cannot afford to eat
Current On-Campus Food Options Available
University Food Plans
-Buffet-style dining halls
-Fast food options
Other
-Vending machines
-Bobcat bounty (food pantry)
Current On-Campus Food Options Available
The only affordable and nutritious option available for food insecure students is the bobcat bounty food pantry. Yet, when surveyed %89.8 Texas State students were not aware of the food pantry, and %47.8 had not used it regardless of feeling like they cannot afford food.
Why are food pantries not being utilized by students?
Problem Statement
Students at Texas State face food insecurity at alarming levels. The university currently has a food bank that is relatively unknown, and possibly could not take the numbers that would need its resources at its current
Majority of students want access to:
Expanded Food Pantry
Pre-Made Meals
How is food waste currently managed on campus?
10,000 lbs of food waste is composted every week
It is estimated that around 40% of this food is salvageable
Previous food waste recovery initiatives were run by the food recovery network. During the 3.5 years the program was run they recovered roughly 100-400lbs everyday. This program was only run with 4 of the 35 locations on campus.
Who are we designing for?
How can we increase food accessibility through community partnerships to feed more students?
The Solution
Boko Box is a resource for all students that transforms leftovers from the many eateries around campus into meals that are accessible to everyone.
The boko box program would consist of two parts, satellite food locations and an app to allow users to track locations and food availability. The app would be an extension of the Texas State app that already exists. Satellite food locations would be refrigerated vending machines that would be located at key points around campus, especially in areas that are far from food. Boko is the name of the Texas State mascot, and boxes references the new vending machines that would be around campus.
Satellite Food Locations: The Boko Boxes
Refrigerated vending machines will contain salvaged food from the 35 food locations on campus. Texas State would put new guidelines in place for all usable food on campus to be salvaged. Incoming freshman would work as volunteers for the food stations in the required freshman course.
Pricing: Food would be priced by the pound, modestly. Only to keep students from clearing out the entire fridge.
Access: Fridges would be accessed by swiping a student ID, once swiped the fridge can be opened and food could be removed. The fridge tracks how many pounds of food have been removed and charges the student’s account.
Mobile App
Integrated into the TXST app
Boko Box would become a new item on the TXST app home screen.
Location & Availability
Locations are visible on a map. Each pin represents a Boko Box location. When selected each location details the Box’s floor and food availability.
What I learned:
This project was my first in depth design research project. I really enjoyed walking through the IDEO process and creating in-depth surveys to gather most of the numbers seen inside of this project. I also learned a lot about delegating inside of a group and having healthy debates about design solutions.
What I would do differently:
Originally in this project there was a disagreement on if students needed pre-made meals or raw ingredients. The surveys resulted with these number being split directly in half. For lack of time I decided to stick with only pre-made meals from salvaged foods.
If I had more time I would’ve enjoyed attempting to find a solution that could foster community on campus like a community kitchen and pantry. I simply did not have the research that users would want to participate in something like that, so I went with the option that seemed to solve the basic job to be done. Also, I would like to present this idea to the Texas State board, to see if they would be interested in implementing it.