Food Oasis LA v2 – ROBIN OLAYA

OVERVIEW

Food Oasis is a non-profit that maintains an updated database of meal and pantry locations within California. This project aimed to enhance the user experience of the mobile web app by improving usability and efficiency in locating resources through user-centered design and direct user feedback.

Mission: Food Oasis is a web-based directory that connects people to free food resources in Los Angeles.

Maintain a directory of pantries and meal programs
The project is entirely volunteer led
Volunteers verify 1k+ listings

ROLE AND DURATION

Researcher and Designer

May 2021 – July 2021

Team

Product Manager

Product Owner

1 Developer

Project type and duration

Mobile web application optimization 5 weeks

Role and team

Researcher and Designer (me), Product Manager, Product Owner, Developer

Tools

Figma, Miro, Zoom, Google Docs

Overview

Food Oasis is a non-profit that maintains an updated database of meal and pantry locations within California.

The goal of this project was to enhance the user experience of the Food Oasis mobile web app by improving usability, accessibility, and efficiency in locating resources through user-centered design and direct user feedback.

Approach and deliverables

With limited resources, we prioritized a user-centered approach to refine the mobile web app. We conducted user interviews to identify the critical needs of individuals and integrated their feedback into the design process.

Key deliverables include redesigned user flows, improved navigation for faster access to resources, and accessibility enhancements to ensure inclusivity.

Constraints

Operating with a limited budget and constrained team availability, we had to carefully prioritize resources. With minimal quantitative data, decisions were driven by qualitative insights and adaptability.

The Problem

Challenges with the current experience

Food seekers in Los Angeles needed a faster and more efficient way to find nearby open food resources, especially in urgent situations. The existing Food Oasis mobile web app provided access to these resources, but users struggled with its usability. The goal was to optimize the experience while preserving its core functionality, ensuring that users could quickly and easily access the support they needed.

DEFINITION

What are Food Resources and Food Seekers?

Food Resources

Includes meal programs, food pantries, and sometimes shelters that provide food or temporary housing. These resources often require specific forms of eligibility, which vary by organization.

Food Seekers

Individuals or groups who utilize these resources. They may or may not be aware of the Food Oasis web app and often need immediate access to available food assistance.

Process

Grounded in user-centered design, my approach emphasized research, usability, and iterative improvements.

Research

Review existing research
Audit existing experience
User interviews

Analysis

Key pain points and insights
User flows
Problem statement

Ideation

Low-fidelity wireframes
Brainstorm solutions based on user needs
List of key design changes

Design

New layouts for better usability
Improve search and filtering
High-fidelity wireframes

Feedback

Usability testing
Iterations
Identified areas for further refinement

Handoff

Annotations including design rationale
Final UI design and prototype

RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS

Understanding the food seeker’s
journey with research driven insights

For many in Los Angeles, finding food isn’t always easy—it’s a daily challenge.
To help, we conducted user interviews with two food seekers, guiding them through several tasks to understand their needs.

Key findings

To decide where to get resources, food seekers require comprehensive information.

Beyond details like hours, location, and eligibility. Intuitive navigation tools, including filters and map/list views, are crucial for efficient decision-making.

Food seekers navigate a daily balancing act, managing weekly meal planning alongside urgent hunger needs.

This makes accurate information critical. However, volunteer-led updates often lacked consistency, leaving users unsure if the information they found was reliable.

Social and community influence plays a significant role.

Reliance on word-of-mouth is instantly more valuable than the Food Oasis database.

Additionally, dietary restrictions and resource availability are key factors, especially given the ‘first come, first served’ nature.

Key insight

In any crisis, whether a pandemic or not, people’s top priority is securing their family’s health and reliable access to food.

“When there’s so many things taken away at a time like this, you really find that the most important things are just being healthy, having like your family be healthy and being able to eat every day, you know… like not having to worry about the pandemic and if you’re sick or not, and then also worrying about, well, what am I going to eat tomorrow? Or do we have food?”

PERSONA

Alexandra, the resourceful planner

Alexandra is a busy student and part-time worker living in a crowded apartment with her family in downtown Los Angeles.

She relies heavily on word-of-mouth and prior experience to find resources.
Planning is essential, as she juggles a tight schedule and needs to know precise hours and details.
She values detailed information and social proof to avoid wasting precious time.

Pain points and needs

Limited time and unreliable information, hinders the ability to efficiently find trusted food resources in Los Angeles indicating a need for improved searchability in the database.

Food seekers report difficulty in planning

Struggles with time management due to difficulties in finding accurate and timely food resource information.

Currently distrusts information on Food Oasis

Past experiences with misleading or outdated information led to feelings of distrust with the organization.

Inherently limited access to resources

Reliance on word-of-mouth naturally limits access and discovery to different locations around LA County.

Need for community validation

Social proof like reviews and feedback not only creates trust around the quality of information, but makes validating locations harder.

Current state of the product

Food seekers struggle with the app’s filters, which aren’t helpful, and the top header and search bar block 41% of the screen, making it hard to view listings. Operating hours and contact information are often outdated or missing, leading to user frustration.

Filters and visibility issues

How effective are the current filters?

The filters struggle to manage 1k+ organizations, causing cognitive overload.

The current UI limits visibility

Navigation and search take up 41% of the screen, limiting content visibility

Outdated and unqualified information

Relevant information is buried

Hours and location are essential for food seekers, but they also need to know eligibility requirements, languages spoken, and food types before visiting a location.

Unqualified information

Core information such as operating hours and contact information are outdated or missing, creating frustration for users.

IDEATION

Design principles

Every detail matters when someone is searching for food assistance. Our design prioritizes clarity, accuracy, and transparency so users can rely on the information they find.

When someone needs food, time is critical. Our experience is designed for urgency, making essential information easy to find and act on.

How might we…

I use the How Might We (HMW) framework because it helps me shift from simply identifying problems to actively exploring opportunities.

How might we make learning about organizations feel engaging and effortless?

How might we reduce uncertainty and make first-time visits feel welcoming?

How might we reassure users that the information they see is always current and reliable?

INITIAL CONCEPTS

Map view

With this approach, users can access a page just for search, as needed. Providing a cleaner interface and prioritizes the map view.

List view

To build trust between users and the product I chose to show the CTA buttons on the surface of the list view, making typical actions more accessible.

Listing details

Users usually look for directions, contact info, and eligibility first. The new design puts this info upfront, so they don’t have to scroll.

Filters

Filters can enhance the user experience greatly by refining their search results, but with limited resources (consistent staff) and complexity around implementation, we prioritized other functionalities to ensure we met the deadlines.

Final solutions

Map view

Surfaced CTA buttons
Streamlined navigation & search
Reveal time windows

List view

Surfaced call to action buttons on the card itself
Reveal time windows

Listing overview and details

Time windows of availability and general operating hours
Last updated status
Information based on user ranking

FINAL SCREENS AND HANDOFF

Final design

OUTCOMES AND LESSONS LEARNED

Tackling challenges

The volunteer-based nature leads to inconsistent testing, metrics, and manpower, impacting user insights and expected outcomes.

Outcomes & social impact

Advanced filters are planned for a future release. The platform gained user engagement and recognition from the Department of Public Health, leading to expansion in Northern California.

Start with research

Prioritizing user needs begins with direct conversations and research, guiding design decisions for effective improvements.