Fifteenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

Between 30-40% of food goes uneaten in the U.S. and 15% of U.S. households struggle with food insecurity (USDA). At the University of Washington (UW), Seattle, Washington, dining halls work with food delivery groups to transport leftover food to non-profit agencies, but these groups have limited capacity and need help. Our project is addressing this issue by creating an open source website to pair-up UW cafeterias with non-profit agencies. This website facilitates the transportation of food waste from UW Food Services to local agencies with the help of UW student groups. It also facilitates timely identification of food location and volume. With collaboration of dining halls, student delivery groups, and agencies in need, this website can help reduce food waste and feed people in need. Our website addresses social, cultural, and economic issues surrounding food waste and food insecurity. Irini Spyridakis, a UW faculty member, and Madison Holbrook, a UW student (both from the Department of Human Centered Design and Engineering) are leading an interdisciplinary team of approximately thirteen undergraduate and graduate students to research, design, and build the responsive website. We have met with and surveyed numerous dining hall managers and over fifty food shelters. We are in the process of testing and finalizing the website and training student groups for delivery, and will have results in spring 2018. (1. United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Food Waste Challenge, FAQs, Information Sources. https://www.usda.gov/oce/foodwaste/sources.htm. Accessed 16 February 2018.)