For the course ‘System Design for Sustainability’, we had the assignment to redesign the food system at the Bovisa Campus (Politecnico di Milano). With my team, we proposed FoodLab as a solution. 

New System Idea:

FoodLab is a decentralised enterprise based on the campus of the Politecnico di Milano. In the urban garden at the university, vegetables and herbs are produced that can then be used in FoodLab. FoodLab employs several local employees who take care of the urban garden and share their knowledge through workshops to have transparency on the whole process. Through a smartphone application, students/professors can order seasonal food or pre-defined meals (recipes plus the linked ingredients are then provided to the students/professors) for the lunch the next day. In this way, FoodLab tries to avoid the disposal of food. If vegetables are still left, they will be offered on Too Good To Go. The students/professors can then prepare their own vegetarian meal in FoodLab and pay per kg of the prepared food. They can also participate in cultural workshops and give workshops themselves in order to stimulate intercultural diversity. FoodLab uses a service that provides FoodLab with solar panels and kitchenware. The product provider provides all-inclusive life-cycle services. Preservable food, such as rice and pasta, is purchased from local companies that only offer organic food. Local restaurants can also order vegetables/spices from FoodLab via the smartphone application and pay per kg. The food is delivered in a sustainable way (bicycle or sustainable van) and the optimal route is created. In the video below, the project is explained in more detail.