Feeding Dignity

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Designers

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Reimagining food budgeting as an act of dignity, creativity, and care.

Key Words

Designers

Isis Hartfield Edwards

SUMMARY

Feeding Dignity examines the emotional and systemic tensions within food insecurity. What began as an inquiry into shame became a deeper investigation into the cognitive load of budgeting what participants called “emotional math.” Through interviews, mapping, and iterative prototyping, I developed Basket Case, a tool that simplifies price comparison and supports dignity in decision-making. The work matters because design can relieve invisible burdens that data alone cannot address.

challenge

Through interviews and research, I uncovered a core gap: people aren’t just struggling with food costs, they’re struggling with the constant emotional math of comparing prices, planning meals, and stretching benefits. Budgeters and SNAP users described shame, confusion, and decision fatigue as weekly norms. Existing tools are fragmented, stigmatizing, or overly financial. The opportunity is a dignified, low-friction way to support everyday food decisions. An area with centralized information for the transparency of price comparison.

Outcome

The project resulted in Basket Case, a price-match catalog designed to ease the emotional burden of weekly food decisions. Instead of budgeting jargon or shame-based tools, it offers a clear, friendly way to compare prices across affordable stores. By simplifying the “mental math” of grocery shopping, Basket Case directly addresses decision fatigue, supports autonomy, and fills a market gap for dignified, low-barrier food planning support.