With the Covid-19 crisis, vulnerabilities in the food supply chain have been exacerbated. The disease has led to the shut down of restaurants and farmers markets. Less food is being ordered, and farms are suffering from the absence in spending. This app provides a way for farmers to make an income and for consumers to support local farmers. Fresh produce will be delivered to consumers directly from the farms, cutting out the middleman.This efficient process will reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emissions by connecting consumers with farmers that are nearby. In addition, farmers under this app will use biodegradable packaging made from PLA and Al2O3 to reduce the amount of waste in landfills. The app also creates a way for farmers to receive payment for virtually teaching clients how to grow food in their unique living environment. Farmers will teach clients how to reduce their food waste through composting kitchen scraps to grow their own food. FarmLink provides a community atmosphere by creating a simple way for consumers to buy farm fresh produce and support their local farmers.
During our research, we noticed that small farmers were losing a significant portion of their business. Several articles have shown that the agricultural industry is suffering and farmers are losing millions. Many small farmers rely on restaurants or catering services. Covid-19 has forced these types of businesses to either scale back or shut down completely, drastically reducing farmers’ sources of income. Some consumers are scared to leave their homes due to the pandemic and visit the grocery store less. Without the need for the same quantity of food as before the pandemic, farmers have been destroying their own crops and killing livestock. We decided to come up with a way to increase the demand for food in order to solve this issue and help farmers. We took inspiration from apps such as UberEats, which create an efficient system for food delivery, and applied the same concepts to address the problems facing both consumers and farmers during this pandemic. We realized that an app such as FarmLink could connect farmers to their consumers using minimal effort. Consumers who want to reduce the risk of the virus can have their produce delivered and farmers can make money from this service to minimize their losses. We also recognized that during this pandemic many people quarantined at home can feel irritated that they don’t have anything to do. The teaching aspect of the app provides users with a way to productively spend their time by learning how to grow their own crops.