Field Project Week 2

I showed up at the Union Square farmers market around the time that they were shutting down.  Here, I saw many vendors offering up their product at a discounted rate. I am curious as to what the system is for leftover food, as all of the produce is fresh, and therefore sold after the market, as the vendors then have to travel home.  

I would like to create a better system for this product, which I believe would be advantageous to the market, as one of their mission statements is to not waste food.  Perhaps there is a way to design a designated tent for the food to be sold or distributed after the vendors have left the market, so that they themselves do not have to worry about transporting it back to their farm.  This could be in the form of a post- market event, or perhaps become an integrated part of the market itself.  The food is already being discounted as the day goes on, and could even be donated at the end of the day to people who are in need. 

I am aware that the market itself is often very crowded, however the area quiets down towards the end of the day, making it the perfect time to transition into a last minute shop.  

This would give vendors an easy way to get rid of their remaining product, without wasting, and help serve the community.

 

Human to Human

  • Vendor- Vendors want to sell all of their product/ not have left overs at the end of the day. They want to earn as much revenue as possible, as many of them travel far distances to be at the market. It needs to be advantageous for business. They must gauge how much product they believe they will sell each time. 
    • Questions for vendors
      • Would you rather bring too much or too little product?
      • How do you decide how much you will bring each week?
      • What do you do with leftover product?
  • Customer- Customers may show up at the end of the market, purposefully, in order to get a better price on the product, even if it means not having first pick
    • Questions for customers?
      • What is your favorite time to come to the market? Early? Middle? Late?
      • How do you decide what you will buy?
      • What is your average budget?

Human to Object

  • Product- One of the pillars of GrowNYC is bringing fresh food to the city, however this comes with constraints. Are measures being taken by the organization to attempt to reduce food waste
  • Another part of GrowNYC’s mission is to make fresh food affordable. Is there a way in which product that would otherwise not be sold, be given to people who may not be able to afford the farmers market prices?

Human to Environment

  • How does weather affect the product, and how vendors plan for this. I observed many people carrying their product in coolers.  Is this the most effective way of keeping food fresh? What about on hotter days?

Studio Project:

I would like to design a system that helps to deal with eliminating food waste, and ensuring that fresh, good food is not getting thrown away at the end of the day.

 

Design ideas:

  • A tent designated to food being sold at a reduced price
  • A post-market market for any food that hasn’t been sold over the course of the day

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