Nurtur

Summary

This design was created for Google’s DeepMind Gemini Hackathon in Feb 2026.

Finding healthy groceries are scares in food desert regions is a challenge because many of the options are fast food.

There are many apps that deliver food straight to your door, but few that address the real issue of  “Where should I get food?” This difficult question is a reality for individuals living in food deserts. Food deserts are characterized by a lack of a nearby supermarket and also by chains of fast food stores that don’t offer healthy options for residents. Therefore, the problem is not ordering food, but rather finding healthy alternatives.

Discovery

Since this project was to be completed within 48 hours, I had minimal time to do research. My starting point was my own community. A few blocks away from my home, a supermarket burned down. While it has since been rebuilt, I couldn't help thinking about those who do not have easy access to groceries.

In my research, I learned that 6% of Americans, approximately 18.8 - 19 million people, live in food deserts, and yet 60 to 103 million tons of food are thrown out each year. How do I fix that?

For the hackathon, I set out to fix food waste and food insecurity through a food sourcing app that connects users to farmers, grocery stores, and other suppliers— helping them feed themselves and also helping farmers sell their "ugly" produce.

Tackling two problems at once

Food scarcity is an access problem, while food waste is a supply and distribution problem. In America, food deserts are largely created by three major factors: physical access, caused by transportation or zoning laws and real estate, and economics. Supermarket chains feel discouraged about setting up in low-income neighborhoods due to low purchasing power.

Sadly, for users the journey to find healthy groceries was difficult.

My app focused on tackling access. How can I make healthier food more accessible?

The onboarding process of the app would be key. During the onboarding process, the app asks users for their names, dietary restrictions, and location. This data is used to narrow and focus results that meet the users' needs.

Connecting farmers to customers

For this app to be effective, it needed to also allow farmers to sell their goods. On the other side of access were farmers. When creating this solution, I took NYC as an example. Farmers' markets appear all over the city; however, there are pockets of food-scarce regions throughout the five boroughs. Some farms offer drop-off stops for their goods and CSA programs with grocery boxes shipped to your home, but few New Yorkers know about these programs. How can I make people aware of these options?

In NYC, there are various steps a grower must go through to sell at a farmer's market. It's a long process with time constraints and bureaucratic hurdles. Nurtur handles the process easily, connecting farmers with verified accounts to sell after they receive approval.

Making the most of what is available

Another way of tackling food waste was through the recipe feature. The recipe feature is a scanner. The scan looks through the user's fridge and suggests healthy meals with the ingredients they already have.

Project Wins

• Getting the voice and languagae recognition to work was a big project win because it was a feature of the app that I really wanted to add.

Project lessons

I understand that in no way could this app solve such a large communal problem, but I believe it is a tool that can help. It was through this project that I came to learn about and become passionate about civic design and how design can help find solutions to larger problems. I hope to continue exploring and growing in this area in the future.