U-M Food Accessibility

Understanding and improving food accessibility for University of Michigan - Ann Arbor students.

Team

Melissa Vozar

Timeline

August - December 2023

Tools

Figma
Miro

Overview

This project focused on understanding and improving food accessibility for University of Michigan - Ann Arbor students. Through interviews, surveys, and usability testing, we identified key barriers to food access and developed user-centered recommendations to make resources more visible, accessible, and stigma-free.

Background

In my course SI 422: Needs Assessment and Usability Evaluation with Gabriela Marcu, I gained hands-on knowledge and skills necessary for understanding users and applying that understanding to improve the usability of products. Throughout the course I used a wide range of methods including: in-depth analysis of user needs, interviews/surveys, user personas, heuristic evaluation, usability testing, and log analysis. I decided to research how we might expand food accessibility and mitigate food insecurity for students at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor.

Challenge

How might we expand food accessibility and mitigate food insecurity for University of Michigan - Ann Arbor students?

Research Methods

5 Interviews
Generative Methods - Collage
Information Architecture
Storyboards
Experience Maps
Usability Test

Information Architecture

Key Themes

  1. “I don't think the options near campus have a wide selection of grocery options”

  2. “I have found solutions that
    assist with this problem”

  3. “I have had good experiences eating in Ann Arbor/ at the University level”

Experience Map

Check out more of my work!