TOYOTA MOBILITY FOUNDATION X INDIANA UNIVERSITY
FoodLink: Reimagining Food Access Through Coordinated Distribution
Optimizing the food distribution value chain for those facing food insecurity by developing mobility and digital technology solutions.
Role
Product designer
Time
7-8 months
Team
UX Researcher, Visual Designer,
Motion Designer
01
The Problem
Even with the efforts of food banks and pantries, many communities still experience gaps in food access, delivery delays, and underused resources.
Approximately 200,000 Indianapolis residents live in food deserts
25% of Indianapolis residents experienced food insecurity in 2021
1 in 7 people in Indiana face hunger, including 1 in 5 children.
02
Design direction
“How might we connect food pantries and other distributors into a seamless system that facilitates efficient food distribution.”
03
The Research
These research methods helped us uncover logistical pain points, user behaviors, and gaps in current systems, providing a strong foundation for a user-centered solution.
25+
Survey responses
From Food Pantries across
Indianapolis
15+
Research papers
Reviewed on logistics & food distribution challenges.
Major findings
Inefficient Coordination – Food banks & pantries rely on Excel, Emails and phone calls for communication causing delays and miscommunication.
No Real-Time Visibility – Pantries lack access to surplus food availability, making it difficult to match supply with demand.
Volunteer & Resource Mismatch – No centralized scheduling system for volunteers leads to inefficient food pickup and delivery.
Food Pantries
No Centralized Coordination Platform
04
Ideation
Phase 1: Affinity Mapping
To make sense of the insights gathered from our research, my team and I conducted an affinity mapping session. We clustered our observations from interviews, field visits, and surveys into key themes such as inventory challenges, transportation gaps, volunteer coordination, and communication issues. This method helped us identify patterns, prioritize pain points, and align on the most critical problems to address in our solution.
Phase 2: Persona development
Using insights from real users, including pantry coordinators, food bank managers, and logistics staff, we created detailed personas that represented our primary and occasional users.
04
Proposed design solution
Surplus Sharing Board
A live board where food banks and pantries can post surplus items and others can request what they need.
Collaboration
Connect food banks, pantries, donors, and volunteers on a single platform.
Availability
Access real-time updates on surplus food and requests in seconds.
Data Supporting Our Solution
Pantries prioritize cost, reliability, and flexibility when considering new systems.
Organizations currently spending < $1000 said they would adopt a low-cost network solution.
Respondents expressed interest in a system to redistribute surplus resources efficiently
05
Evaluation
To understand if our design is easy to use and supports key tasks, we conducted
Figma prototype