Sanctuary abundant free food kiosk

Final Abundant Free Food Kiosk design raised above the sidewalk for easy access to the public

Abstract

The purpose of this project is to create a new way for The Sanctuary to distribute donated food to the public in a free, convenient way. The project successfully met all of the weighted criterion set for the abundant free kiosk. The A-Team designed a permanent, weather-proof structure from which The Sanctuary can now easily distribute free food to the community of Arcata. The A-Team was brought together through the Humboldt State University class, Engineering 215 - Introduction to Design, taught by Lonny Grafman.

Background

The Fall 2016 ENGR 215 class, taught by Lonny Grafman, made six different design projects for The Sanctuary, a local, nonprofit organization promoting sustainability and creativity. The A-Team chose the Abundant Free Food Kiosk as their project. Before implementation of the food kiosk, The Sanctuary was having difficulty giving out donated food. They were distributing their food out of cardboard boxes from their pantry in the basement level of the building. This became a problem as the public was unaware of the free food available. Throughout the semester, The A-Team researched, designed, prototyped, and built a ventilated, insulated, permanent kiosk at the sidewalk level to give The Sanctuary am easier, more accessible way to distribute the free food to the public.

Problem Statement and Objective

The Sanctuary in Arcata is often given large amounts of food to distribute to the public. They previously did not have any efficient ways to distribute this food, making it difficult to give to the people. The objective of The Abundant Free Food Kiosk is to design and implement a method that provides free food to the community using The Sanctuary`s resources at a low cost.

Criteria

Below is a table of criteria for The Abundant Free Food Kiosk. Each criterion is weighted on a scale of one to ten to determine its degree of importance.

Table-1: Criteria and Constraints
Criteria	Weight	Constraints
Safety	10	No chemicals or other harmful contaminants will be able to taint the food inside the kiosk. There cannot be splinters from the wood.
Public Accessibility	10	Must be accessible for all people, including children.
Critter Proof	10	The kiosk must be able to withstand any animals or pests trying to get inside in order to protect its contents.
Durability (10 years)	8	Must last at least ten years.
Aesthetics	6	Must look pleasing and professional to the eye.
Replicability	5	Simple enough to be rebuilt by amateurs.
Cost	3	Cannot exceed four hundred dollars (one hundred dollars from The Sanctuary, seventy-five dollars from each group member.

Description of Final Project

The Abundant Free Food Kiosk is a large box made of plywood that sits on its stand, allowing it to be raised to the sidewalk. It has two doors on each side, allowing easy accessibility for the public walking by on the sidewalk as well as people from The Sanctuary who will load food from the back two doors. The entire box contains insulation on the inside and vents on the side of the box to allow the food inside to stay as fresh as possible as it sits outside. The Abundant Free Food Kiosk now serves as an efficient way to make sure The Sanctuary can easily give out the food it is given.

Building

File:IMG 2654.JPG

Building the Kiosk

Maintenance

The Kiosk is easy to maintain as it doesn't involve any heavy annual cleaning or maintenance. Maintenance includes wiping down the insides of the box from possible food smudges and replacements of parts if damaged.

Material	Time	Cost ($)
Disinfectant Wipes	5 minutes (weekly)	$5.00
General Parts for Replacement	2 hours (annually)	$10.00

Instructions

Maintenance

Costs

Quantity	Material	Source	Cost ($)	Total ($)
2	2x4's (in)	Donated	0	0
4	8x4 (ft) Plywood	Donated	0	0
18	2x2's (in)	Donated	0	0
1	Wood Glue	Donated	0	0
~100	Screws	Donated	0	0
1	Waterproofing Material	Donated	0	0
3	Insulation (sheets)	Donated	0	0
4	Cabinet Handles	Donated	0	0
20	Paint (colors)	Donated	0	0
1	Paint (chalkboard)	Hardware Stores	15.00	15.00
Total Cost				$15.00

Testing Results

The Sanctuary can now place three 18" by 20" cardboard boxes full of food in the kiosk. This food is now available for the community to take.

Discussion and Next Steps

The finished Abundant Free Food Kiosk is a sturdy, well-insulated cabinet that will serve its purpose and provide The Sanctuary with a more efficient method of distributing free food. The A-Team was very pleased with the overall product of the kiosk and was glad to be able to participate in giving back to the community of Arcata. We hope the kiosk influences others to build the same or similar design to share resources amongst their communities the way The Sanctuary is now able to. The next steps of this project are to coat the kiosk with a waterproof layer in order for the paint to not wash off with the rain. This specific project was continued by The Sanctuary; The Sanctuary constructed a living roof on top of the kiosk by covering the roof with pond liner and adding a gutter system.