Care Relationships Within the Food Pantry

A research driven exploration, focusing on designing for care relationships and communities within food assistance spaces.

Role

UX Research

Print Design

Collaborators

Kenneth Tran, Interaction Design

Daniel Huang, UX Research

Daniel Huang,

UX Research

Tools

Figma

Adobe Illustrator

Duration

3 months

A research driven exploration, focusing on designing for care relationships and communities within food assistance spaces.

Overview

In Fall 2023, the UW Food Pantry saw over 6,000 visits—tripling in demand over five years.

This UX research case study examines the care-centered relationship between volunteers and recipients at the local student pantry. Through a range of design methods, it explores how to thoughtfully approach food assistance spaces, offering a documented model to guide future designers in similar contexts.

The Challenge

We began with research investigating the care relationship between food pantry volunteers and recipients. Apparent gaps in understanding the volunteer-recipient care relationship, led to our research question:

"How might we strengthen food pantry volunteer-recipient care relationships to improve overall quality of service for both parties?"

Secondary Research & Analysis

Screener

Virtual form sent out as a QR code on flyers. Asked about relationship to food pantry, demographic information, frequency of use, and willingness to participate in further conversations.

Flyer

Flyers I created with vibrant colors and simple bold imagery to draw people in and give our research a sense of brand identity. Pasted around University of Washington campus to attract potential participants for interviews and screeners.

Screener

Virtual form sent out as a QR code on flyers. Asked about relationship to food pantry, demographic information, frequency of use, and willingness to participate in further conversations.

Flyer

Screener

Virtual form sent out as a QR code on flyers. Asked about relationship to food pantry, demographic information, frequency of use, and willingness to participate in further conversations.

Flyer

Screener

Virtual form sent out as a QR code on flyers. Asked about relationship to food pantry, demographic information, frequency of use, and willingness to participate in further conversations.

Flyer

Generative Research & Data Collection

Participatory Observations,

Immersing ourselves as volunteers and recipients to gain perspectives on interactions and experiences.

Fly-on-the-wall Observations,

Going to the food pantry and observing the flow of the space without engaging or interrupting the environment.

Semi-structured Interviews,

Interviewed both volunteers and recipient to learn more about their individual experiences, emotions, and perceptions around Food Pantries. Questions focused on experiences within interactions.

Participatory Observations,

Immersing ourselves as volunteers and recipients to gain perspectives on interactions and experiences.

Fly-on-the-wall Observations,

Going to the food pantry and observing the flow of the space without engaging or interrupting the environment.

Semi-structured Interviews,

Interviewed both volunteers and recipient to learn more about their individual experiences, emotions, and perceptions around Food Pantries. Questions focused on experiences within interactions.

Participatory Observations,

Immersing ourselves as volunteers and recipients to gain perspectives on interactions and experiences.

Fly-on-the-wall Observations,

Going to the food pantry and observing the flow of the space without engaging or interrupting the environment.

Semi-structured Interviews,

Interviewed both volunteers and recipient to learn more about their individual experiences, emotions, and perceptions around Food Pantries. Questions focused on experiences within interactions.

Participatory Observations,

Immersing ourselves as volunteers and recipients to gain perspectives on interactions and experiences.

Fly-on-the-wall Observations,

Going to the food pantry and observing the flow of the space without engaging or interrupting the environment.

Semi-structured Interviews,

Interviewed both volunteers and recipient to learn more about their individual experiences, emotions, and perceptions around Food Pantries. Questions focused on experiences within interactions.

Key Insights

From this process, we were able to create 4 primary takeaways with the common themes and patterns we had observed.

Information

Information accessibility poses challenges for pantry recipients due to ineffective dissemination and general lack of relevant details.

Information

Information accessibility poses challenges for pantry recipients due to ineffective dissemination and general lack of relevant details.

Stigma

Stigma is discouraging for food pantry recipients because it creates feelings of shame and/or fear of judgment, which reduces their interest in building relationships within the pantry community.

Stigma

Stigma is discouraging for food pantry recipients because it creates feelings of shame and/or fear of judgment, which reduces their interest in building relationships within the pantry community.

Environment

A sense of community is missing from the food pantry because the existing environment limits opportunities for Recipient-Volunteer interactions.

Environment

A sense of community is missing from the food pantry because the existing environment limits opportunities for Recipient-Volunteer interactions.

Imbalance

There’s an imbalance in understanding and connection between recipients and volunteers. Rooted in a difference in individual expectations and needs.

Imbalance

There’s an imbalance in understanding and connection between recipients and volunteers. Rooted in a difference in individual expectations and needs.

Feedback & Refinement

From these key insights, we generated a range of potential solutions, spanning from genuine and earnest to critical and dystopian.

From these initial 15 sketches, we sought feedback from peers, our professor, and interviewees. We understood that designing effectively required collaboration with the people we were designing for. Ideating wouldn’t lead to meaningful solutions without their input and suggestions.

The Result

We refined our sketches and developed four strong concepts, each addressing a unique insight from our research and grounded in evidence-based thought processes.

Insight 1. Information

Insight 2. Stigma

Insight 3. Environment

Insight 4. Imbalance

Next Steps

To build on our sketches, the next step would be collaborative prototyping and testing with food pantry stakeholders. This includes developing interactive prototypes, conducting usability tests with volunteers and recipients, and using methods like interviews, workshops, and surveys to guide iteration. Our final deliverable was a detailed zine documenting our process, created for those interested in exploring our work further.

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