Community micro-pantries deployment

This week (of December 9, 2024) we pilot tested for the first time the community commected micro-pantries in the lab and in a real-world deployment, as part of our project Leveraging a connected network of unattended micro-pantries to reduce food waste and improve food security sponsored by the National Science Foundation Civic Innovation Challenge.

We tested the weight and door opening/closing sensors, as well as connectivity and power in real-world deployment. These sensors will provide valuable data on food donation transactions at community micro-pantries. In a future phase of the project we will be performing deployments in multiple micro-pantries in Seattle and provide information on food re-stocking, temperature, humindity, and food safety monitoring through an online dashboard.