Staple Station

Inspiration

We were inspired to come up with a solution to food deserts around the U.S. and we picked Memphis especially because it was the highest percentage of those who were struggling from the lack of nutritious and healthy meals that are affordable in their area due to income inequality which has led to health disparities within the population. We wanted to find what could be accessible and affordable for people to receive the items they need.

What we learned

We learned that there is a big issue in food deserts in Memphis, and we could find an accessible easy way to disperse staple food products that families can obtain at a low price so that they can get the right nutrition. We learned that we could deliver and operate these vending machines instead of having food pantries so we could remove the stigma of going to one and feeling the public shame for doing so.

How we built our project

We came up with the solution of putting stable food products such as fruits and vegetables based on the community needs instead of dispersing what would be wasted. We also would like to add other foods such as rice, canned goods, and grains. These items would be sold at a discounted price either cash or card and it would also accept EBT cards for those who apply for SNAP benefits. We would have a warehouse to store these items which we would buy for a discount from local farmers. In order to gain more money for the purchasing of these items we would also put vending machines in higher income areas at a premium price at gyms and libraries that would be willing to pay for drinks, fruits, and vegetables as well.

Challenges we faced

We faced many challenges throughout our brainstorming time to fight the problem of food deserts. We faced the problem of how we would deliver these products to those in need, but our solution is putting vending machines in areas that people always go through such as gyms, public buildings, and gas stations so people can obtain these items whenever they are able to if they are working throughout the day. We also ran into the problem of where we would store these items, and our solution to this problem would be to have a centralized warehouse where we would open volunteers to help sort and organize the items that we receive so the delivery trucks can easily deliver those items to the vending machines.