Project Feed
Made with ❤️ by Yi Ling (Ellie) Tai & Rohit Ashok Khot
Project Feed boldly delves into the realms of playful innovation to shed light on two pressing concerns: escalating water consumption levels and the intricate web of food distribution channels. Our initiative unfolds through two captivating commensal play experiences, ingeniously designed to transpire at the heart of communal dining tables. "Caesar on a Skewer", the first play experience, meticulously arranges the ingredients of a Caesar salad on a skewer based on their water consumption levels. From the least water-consuming ingredient atop the skewer to the most at the bottom, participants engage in a playful yet thought-provoking act, compelling them to reflect on the inconveniences entwined with resource-intensive food choices. "Chopstick Parfait", the second play experience, ingeniously mimics the food supply distribution channel – an orchestrated chaos from farm (represented by specific ingredients on a sprawling table) to plate (the individual’s cup). As participants compete to swiftly distribute all ingredients among team members, they grapple with the real-time challenges inherent in the global food distribution system.
What makes Project Feed unique?
According to the Future of Urban Consumption Prediction report, global food insecurity looms large, while the Lancet report illuminates the profound impact of our food consumption practices on human health and the environment. This intertwining of our dietary habits with climatic instability, pollution, and severe health issues underscores a dire global crisis. Our playful intervention transpires on dining plates, a space where these critical issues converge, aiming to illuminate them for a populace that may be overlooking their gravity.
Project Feed CHI PLAY 2020 conference presentation
Elevating Mundane to Magical, The Power of Commensal Play
In the quest for nourishment and growth, humans often overlook the potential for play in their daily lives. Project Feed challenges this oversight, urging participants to playfully engage in the mundane act of eating. By transforming the dining table into a potential stage or 'magic circle' for play—traditionally sidelined due to table manners and cultural norms—we tap into a reservoir of unexplored opportunities. This shift in perspective encourages participants to break free from routine behaviors, immersing themselves in in-situ reflections and experiences that transcend the sterile nature of everyday activities.
Positive impact on participants
The pilot studies of these experiences reveal how edible modes of visualization serve as powerful catalysts for awareness, infusing playful discomforts and delayed feedback into the dining experience. Project Feed not only unlocks the potential for transformative play but also advocates for the integration of food as a medium for designing multisensorial, serious play, guiding the trajectory of future technological developments aimed at addressing critical food-related issues.
Research publications
Yi Ling (Ellie) Tai, Rohit Ashok Khot, and Deepti Aggarwal. 2020. Reconnecting with Food through Dining Play. In Proceedings of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play (CHI PLAY '20). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 334–348. (Best Paper Honorable mention Award)