"Pomme" is an integral part of the "Business and Design Thinking" course at OCAD University's Graduate Study's Strategic Foresight and Innovation program. As a cohort, our initial challenge was to explore the intersection between food insecurity and food waste. Our five-person team embarked on the task of identifying a single topic and devising a viable innovation strategy within a two-month project completion period. Our team focused on understanding and addressing the problem of moderate and severe food insecurity among international graduate students studying in Toronto, Canada. "Pomme" endeavors to provide a comprehensive solution that caters to the diverse needs of international students and establishes a community hub created by students and for students.
According to Coleman-Jensen, Rabbitt, Gregory, and Singh (2019), food insecurity refers to the limited or uncertain access to adequate and nutritious food that meets dietary needs for an active and healthy life. This condition involves households or individuals facing challenges in acquiring sufficient food due to financial constraints or other resource limitations. While food waste refers to the discarding or disposal of food items that are still safe and suitable for human consumption (Parfitt, Barthel, & Macnaughton, 2010). It encompasses food products that are discarded at various stages along the supply chain, including production, processing, distribution, and consumption.
The research process began with conducting secondary research to gain insights into the state of food insecurity and food waste in Canada. Existing studies revealed that certain groups were particularly vulnerable to food insecurity, such as:
Another significant factor contributing to food waste was household size, with larger households generally showing reduced per capita food waste. Conversely, single-person households tended to produce more waste due to large pack sizes in retail settings and limited knowledge about food storage and preservation. Furthermore, reports indicated that food insecurity among post-secondary students, attributed to insufficient financial resources, had serious implications for their health and academic success. Additionally, studies showed that immigrants were more likely to experience food insecurity compared to non-immigrants. Considering these findings, the research scope was narrowed down to focus on international post-secondary students, a group that falls within the at-risk populations for food insecurity, such as low-income individuals, unattached adults, renters, recent immigrants, and students.
According to the 2021 National Student Food Insecurity Report by Meal Exchange, food insecurity rates among international students were alarmingly high, with 74.5% of the 800 respondents reporting moderate to severe food insecurity. To target our efforts effectively, we decided to focus on International Graduate Students in Toronto due to several reasons:
Moreover, we believe that designing with a focus on marginalized groups will enable us to develop a scalable solution that can benefit other user groups as well.
In order to understand the pains and challenges faced by international graduate students during their studies in Toronto and gain valuable insights into the experiences of this specific user group, our team use several tools such as:
Using these tools and the data we synthesized, we discover the following insights about International Graduate Students in Toronto:
In order to afford their tuition and other living expenses in Toronto such as rent, international graduate students in Toronto frequently work long hours in addition to studying to sustain their lifestyle, resulting in very limited time and resources to cook food suitable for their dietary requirements, and can lead to lower academic performance.
As a result they felt:
We want to address the challenges faced by International Graduate Student in Toronto due to:
We continue the process by identifying the key stakeholders and their relationships with the user group.
These stakeholders fail to centralize information and do not provide enough financial support offerings ("one size fits all").
There is a communication/information gap between students and institutions (govt, public universities, student unions), which directly affects students’ well-being with food.
We create 4 "How might we?" questions based on our problem statement:
In response to the four questions, each team member generated ideas that could potentially serve as solutions or components of the solution using Blue Sky Thinking and KJ Method. Subsequently, we identified common threads and honed in on promising solutions, as depicted in the diagram above.
Our next step was concept development; we refined our ideas by specifying its features, the stakeholders involved, and the issues they addressed. During this process, we came to the conclusion that in order to develop an ongoing solution, it must be viable as a for-profit enterprise and not be heavily dependent on grants and donations.\
We concluded that our solution will be delivered in two parts. The front-end portion will be centred on assisting users in managing their food-related expenses, offering education and community support to help them get around the new environment, and introducing them to already-existing resources for food delivery, pick-up and surplus programs. The development of partnerships with existing businesses and our stakeholders will be required for the back end solution (student union, universities, government).
We addressed the gap discovered in the problem space by using it as an opportunity to base our solution in. Building an online Hub that will work as an intermediary between international graduate students in Toronto and their main stakeholders (Universities, Government, Student Union). The hub will be the bridge between both parties to make sustainable solutions to keep students food secure and secure their academic and professional futures.
We addressed the gap discovered in the problem space by using it as an opportunity to base our solution in building an online Hub that will work as an intermediary between international graduate students in Toronto and their main stakeholders (Universities, Government, Student Union). The hub will be the bridge between both parties to make sustainable solutions to keep students food secure and secure their academic and professional future
Pomme helps international graduate students feel empowered with their food choices, through the convenience and personalization of a meal planner, and access to a resource-rich food community.
The platform initiates the user onboarding process with a straightforward login using their university credentials. Afterward, users are directed to an introductory video that encourages them to participate in a survey. The survey aims to gather essential information, including their food preferences, dietary restrictions, feeding and shopping habits, and their weekly meal budget. Upon completing the survey, users access their personalized dashboard, where they find a link to obtain their meal plan and grocery list based on the survey responses. They have the option to either visit recommended grocery stores or utilize the platform's delivery service.
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In case of questions and support, users can either connect to coaches who are fellow students working with Pomme or ask a question from the community.
We also understood that they may be chaotic situations when a student is unable to pay for any food. In this case, they can ask for a helping hand and get options to connect to existing free resources (Ex. Second harvest, food banks, uni pantries, etc.), find resources related to financial aid and support that’s best suited to them.
Finally, they can go to the FAQ page to see if they their questions have already been answered.
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We will introduce our MVP in this phase, with a focus on user acquisition. Revenue streams in this phase will look like securing external funding and 'pay-it-forward donations.
This phase will look to grow Pomme's user base through a viral loop. Revenue streams in this phase will be pay-it-forward donations, partnerships, and ad commissions.
We address potential user growth plateau, Pomme will introduce new features, such as community events, premium services, and a paid subscription model in addition to the free membership. New revenue streams will be the paid subscription model and premium services.
The final phase is focused on ensuring Pomme is self-sustaining. We may look to shift this model to a new entity should it be applicable to future innovations.
