1. Has healthy affordable food.
[REGIONAL FARMS] ? [HUNTS POINT]
Needs healthy affordable food.
[1] FOOD FIGHTS: EAT UP

2. [DESIGN OPPORTUNITY]
Our research into infrastructures of power revealed significant
problems with food access in and around the Hunts Point
neighborhood. Low-income residents of this community often
lack access to healthy food because it is too expensive, too
time-consuming to prepare, or simply unavailable in their area.
Similarly, small and mid-size regional farmers, who struggle
to supply the sort of healthy food that is needed, also face
limited access to this market because demand is inconsistent
and unpredictable. Despite a shared interest in doing business
together, Hunts Point residents and regional farmers remain
largely disconnected.
Our design seeks to align the interests of these producers
and consumers of food and to foster a mutually beneficial
relationship between them. There is considerable work already
being done to increase access to "local food" in New York
City, but rarely are these efforts directed toward low-income
communities. Our design takes best practices from a number of
relevant precedents and integrates them in such a way that they
will benefit neighborhoods like Hunts Point.
DESIGN BY:
AARON CANSLER and BENJAMIN WINTER
MFA TRANSDISCIPLINARY DESIGN
PARSONS THE NEW SCHOOL FOR DESIGN
[2]

3. [ DESIGN PRECEDENTS]
[01]
THE MARKET MODEL
THE HUNTS POINT WHOLESALE GREENMARKET
GrowNYC's Wholesale Greenmarket (incidentally located in
Hunts Point) provides a place for small and mid-size regional
farmers to connect with wholesale buyers in New York City.
This is an important access point for both buyers and sellers
of regional food, but persisting uncertainty about supply and
demand at the market is limiting its use. From the individual
consumer's perspective, the market also has its limitations.
Individuals, particularly low-income individuals, do not often
have the need or the ability to purchase in wholesale quantities,
and even if they did, the Greenmarket's distant location and
inconvenient hours would significantly discourage it.
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[m]
[r]
FARMER MARKET DISTRIBUTOR
[r] [i]
[f ] [m ] [d ]
RESTAURANT
[r]
INSTITUTION
[i ] [
PRODUCTS
] [r]
[d]
INFORMATION
[ ]
[4] FOOD FIGHTS: EAT UP

4. [02]
THE DISTRIBUTOR MODEL
BASIS FARM-TO-CHEF REGIONAL FOOD DISTRIBUTOR
Basis Farm-to-Chef takes a different approach to connecting
regional producers to city consumers. Basis attempts to provide
more certainty, consistency, and convenience by collecting
goods from a number of small and mid-size regional farmers
and delivering them directly to New York City buyers. While
it offers a limited home delivery option for retail customers,
Basis also serves mainly wholesale buyers. Its distribution
services also come at a price, which low-income residents may
be unwilling or unable to pay. As a result, specialty distribution
services like those provided by Basis are rarely marketed in
communities like Hunts Point.
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[d]
[r]
[i] [r] FARMER DISTRIBUTOR RESTAURANT
[f ] [d ] [r]
[i] INSTITUTION
[i] [
PRODUCTS
]
INFORMATION
[ ]
[r]
[5]

5. [03]
COLLECTIVE PURCHASING
GROUPON.COM : COLLECTIVE BUYING POWER
While Hunts Point residents do not necessarily have the
economic capital to purchase in wholesale quantities or
command the services of speciality distributors, they do
possess significant social capital. Evidence of this is apparent
in the neighborhood's strong activist community, as well as
examples of local families working together to maximize food
subsidies. This social capital can be leveraged to overcome any
shortage of economic capital. Groupon does this by organizing
individual consumers into collective buying groups which
receive discounts for buying en masse. If adapted for regional
food purchasing, such collective buying groups would allow
retail customers access to wholesale discounts.
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[w]
[c]
RESTAURANT STO RE WEBSITE
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[r] [s] [w]
CONSUMER
[c ]
PRODUCTS
[ ]
INFORMATION
[ ] [c]
[c]
[6] FOOD FIGHTS: EAT UP

6. [04]
C O L L E C T I V E P R E PA R AT I O N
SUNWARD COHOUSING : COMMUNAL MEAL SYSTEM
Individuals in Groupon's collective buying groups are kept
anonymous and disconnected, but if they were willing and
able to have a more direct relationship, they could potentially
leverage their social capital to even greater mutual benefit.
Cohousing communities with communal meal systems do this
by combining collective purchasing with collective preparation.
For example, the residents of Sunward Cohousing share the
responsibility for cooking and cleaning up after every meal
they eat together. By sharing these responsibilities collectively
instead of duplicating efforts individually, Sunward is able to
provide regular, home cooked meals at a much lower cost and in
a fraction of the time required to prepare meals individually.
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Sunward
COHOUSING
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[h] [h] GROCER HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS
[g ] [ h] [ ]
[h]
INFORMATION
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[h]
[7]

7. SU MP
C ON
[8] FOOD FIGHTS: EAT UP

8. ON
TI
UC
OD
PR
ON
TI
BU
RI
ST
DI
TI ON
P THESE ARE THE INTEGRATED AND MUTUALLY REINFORCING DESIGN ELEMENTS OF A NEW FOOD ACCESS SYSTEM.
CONSUMER COMMUNITY RESTAURANT INSTITUTIONAL "EATS" DELIVERY
GROUP GROUP BUYERS BUYERS PACKAGE TRUCK
DISTRIBUTION ONLINE HUNTS POINT REGIONAL PRODUCT SERVICE
CENTER PLATFORM FOOD CENTER FARMERS FLOWS OPTIONS
[9]

9. HOW IT WORKS BENEFITS SIGN UP WHAT'S FRESH WHAT'S COOKIN' JOIN US FAQ'S ABOUT
SIGN UP and EAT UP! BENEFITS
FARMERS
EATERS You spend too much With a little help
time, money, and effort from your friends,
on buying, cooking, you could eat better,
and cleaning up faster, and cheaper
LOGIN your meals. ... So go on, EatUp!
username:
password:
[ DESIGN ELEMENTS]
[o5]
U S E R I N T E R FA C E :
By integrating the beneficial services of its precedents, EatUp
EAT UP ONLINE PLATFORM
provides a food access system which is greater than the sum of
its parts. Here is how it works:
A number of small and mid-size, regional farmers receive
wholesale orders through the EatUp website and deliver them to
a temporary packaging facility in Hunts Point.
The ingredients of these wholesale orders are then organized
into made-to-order packages of "Eats" that are designed around
recipes, which are both healthy and easy to prepare.
These recipe-ready "Eats" are then distributed among collective
consumer groups (and any other wholesale or institutional
buyers who are interested) who share in the cooking, eating, and
savings however is most convenient for them.
EatUp's website provides a simple interface for both farmers
and residents to select their desired services and tailor them to
their needs.
[10] FOOD FIGHTS: EAT UP

10. [ DESIGN STRATEGY]
It would be naive to suggest that simply launching the EatUp
website would cause Hunts Point residents to immediately
self-organize and adopt this system. That is why, in addition
to the basic design of EatUp, we also propose a detailed
implementation strategy.
Our intention is not to create another non-profit organization to
compete for resources with community groups already working
in the neighborhood. Instead, we have designed a system
that builds on existing infrastructures, leverages established
relationships, and allows residents to look out for themselves.
In the early stages of implementation, EatUp would operate
as centralized body, promoting and coordinating its services
[o6]
with the help of local community groups. However, once fully O P E R AT I O N A L C O N T E X T:
implemented, ownership and operation of EatUp would be fully INFRASTRUTURES OF POWER
distributed among its resident users in Hunts Point.
[FRACTURED POWER] [ CO N S O L I DAT E D P OW E R ]
REGIONAL TERMINAL
FARMERS MARKET
COMMUNITY
BOARD 2
THE POINT
C.D.C.
SUSTAINABLE
SOUTH BRONX
HUNTS POINT
RESIDENTS
HUNTS
POINT E.D.C.
WHOLESALE
GREENMARKET
CITY
AGENCIES
[11]

11. SYSTEM EVOLUTION
1 2
Regional farmers Farmers make Far
PRODUCTION
register goods deliveries to EatUp's to h
they can temporary facilities p
regularly supply. at the Wholesale deliv
REGIONAL Greenmarket. by l
FARMERS
EatUp pilot EatUp hires Ea
DISTRIBUTION
organization is local residents to "l
established, and organize goods truc
its website goes into consumer st
EAT online. packages of "Eats." deliv
UP
Consumer groups Representatives Con
CONSUMPTION
begin to organize of the consumer can
around community groups pick up "E
organizations. and prepare their dir
CONSUMER own "Eats."
GROUPS
Neighborhood Community groups Emp
leaders like like The Point org
POWER Community Board 2 facilitate pick up W
BOOST publicize EatUp and preparation hel
services. of "Eats." be E
[12] FOOD FIGHTS: EAT UP

12. EatUp evolves over time from a centralized system to a distributed cooperative
as social and cultural conditions in the neighborhood change.
3 4 5 6
rmers can start Number of farmers All goods are Regional farmers
have their goods and available picked up and gain a consistent,
picked up and goods increases delivered by a reliable, and
vered to the city as distribution broad network of growning
local residents. improves. resident distributors. new market.
atUp provides EatUp turns over EatUp becomes EatUp dissolves its
lease-to-own" ownership of an entirely pilot organization
cks for locals to packaging resident-owned and prepares to
tart their own operations to its food service scale to new
very operations. local employees. cooperative. communities.
nsumer groups Consumer groups As consumers The Hunts Point
n receive their self-organize become owners, community becomes
Eats" delivered around less formal the services they a center of not only
rectly to them. networks as EatUp provide each other food distribution
gains popularity. support themselves. but food power.
ployment service Capacity building Community Parsons has the
ganizations like organizations like development groups unique opportunity
Work Force One Sustainable South like Hunts Point EDC to make this
lp train locals to Bronx train locals help incorporate design speculation
EatUp employees. to be EatUp owners. EatUp Coop. a reality.
[13]