KIDS + FOOD is a children's meal planning tray that encourages healthy eating and personalized nutrition.

The tray contains five compartments, to encourage children to eat a variety of foods, in a variety of quantities and combinations that will help them discover how food affects their body. There are no specific signifiers of what types of food should go where, this is for the children to experiment with and decide for themselves. Using a combination of natural and synthetic materials the tray acts as both a functional object, and a learning platform.

Our relationship with food is degrading, as Chef Jamie Oliver explains in his Ted Talk, Teach Every Child About Food, many children today are more likely to die younger than their parents, due to nutrition related illnesses. We rarely grow our own food, and the connection between what we eat, where it comes from, and how it affects our bodies is becoming more and more difficult to navigate. A variety of sensitivities and allergies are emerging and continually becoming more prevalent as health concerns.

The challenge posed was to explore how involving children with their nutrition, especially in decision making roles, at an early age can lead to life long healthy food practices.

The design opportunity of KIDS + FOOD is to facilitate kids involvement in their own nutrition. By involving children in their nutrition at an early age, they will have more capacity to be responsible for themselves when they enter school. This includes developing methodologies, products, and systems that change perception about healthy foods relating to dietary needs (allergies, preferences etc.) so that they are seen as a positive, doable aspect of nutrition that celebrates variety in diets.

I began approaching this project as someone who dealt with severe food allergies as a child. I looked at tools for children and their parents to cope with diagnosed or undiagnosed allergies, however the undiagnosed component felt more important, as it is a reflection on how our health system deals with unknowns. I decided instead to advocate for children to take an active role in decision making around personal nutrition. With the idea that if they are able to recognize the types of foods, the quantities, and tastes, that make their body feel most well nourished, then we will have more healthy generations who are actively involved in food production and consumption.

Research: I worked with two families, using a co-creation model, to explore how an object could facilitate the development and maintenance of a healthy relationship with food. Through ethnographic research we experimented with ways that parents and children can collaborate on meal planning, putting decision making (with guidance) in the hands of the child. I consulted experts in children’s nutrition: Sue McLaughlin, MOL, BS,RD,CDE and Jayne M. McClenahan, MS, RD, LMNT from The Nebraska Medical Center. They provided insight into common practices in diagnosing allergies, issues in dealing with food related illness such as diabetes, and best practices in helping children establish healthy diets.

I also drew upon contemporary literature around nutrition including works by Michael Pollan and David Katz.

A key piece of research that informed the product design was learning principles from montesory philosophy. - having a visual interface that the child can interact with but also step back from and view the situation with perspective helps them to learn more effectively. Four of these key principles as explained in livingmontessorinow.com were pivotal in informing the design of the tray.

- Provide opportunities for hands-on learning
- Emphasize practical life and sensorial activities
- Provide child-size materials and tools
- Make the child’s environment orderly and attractive


Examples of Montessori principles being used in the home can be found on these two blogs: http://livingmontessorinow.com/2011/03/08/top-10-montessori-principles-for-natural-learning/ http://bleubirdvintage.typepad.com/blog/montessori/

Prototyping: As part of my research process I created a variety of intitial prototypes to test various methods of interaction with food, these included a step ladder, knitted pods, and nesting containers.

Developing the tray itself included an extensive iterative process and materials exploration. Function and form were explored simultaneously ensuring that the visual and physical experience of using the tray would be an enjoyable and inquisitive process for the user. The tray was made through a cold-press laminating process, and the silicone cups were cast using a two-part mold, CNC cut for precision.

KIDS + FOOD is facilitating a new relationship between children and nutrition. It promotes experimentation, individual responsibility, and collective knowledge. The tray is a platform for families to build healthy nutrition practices on.

The product is designed for extended use between the ages of 2 - 10 +, growing with the child. It’s reversible form provides two different sets of containers, one set with portions geared towards a child from 2-5, and the next from 5-10. Even as children transition into using kitchen products geared towards adults, the tray can be used for more casual meals like snack-time.

The project is a response to how we deal with food in western cultures. Similar themes of individual responsibility, and collective intelligence are potentially relevant to a variety of cultures, but the form of the product has not been developed with research into how other cultures may use it or incorporate it into their daily lives.

No, the project is a vessel for nutritional elements, but does not contain edible materials.