Designing Community Gardens And Eco-Design Within The Restaurant Industry To Help With Food Security

The issue of food security is one that has been prevalent for decades. Existing food security models have taken a more top-down approach, with remedies focusing on supply and demand. The issue identified with these approaches is that it has left the consumers passive in their ability to influence and understand this system, leaving many consumers in the dark about food security. Further contributing to consumer ignorance, are misconceptions around who food security impacts, with many believing it is a problem for those of lower socioeconomic status. However, as highlighted by the 2020 Global Pandemic, food shortages and access to food is a problem that can and will be felt by everybody. As such, this paper aims to contribute to the evolving research on issues of food security by investigating how the inclusion of community gardens in the interior design of restaurants can be used to inform consumers about sustainable models of food security. Hopefully, transforming consumers from passive to active actors. To do so, the study first interviewed experts in the hospitality and interior design industry to understand methods of implementation and general thoughts towards the programming. The second part of the research, not included in this paper, explores the implementation of the findings through the use of a case study site. Findings from the first part of the study were generally supportive of the research question, with many participants agreeing that community gardens are a good way to get the general public more involved. The participants also provided support for the next phase of research. It is hoped that the findings of this study will help to begin to bridge the gap identified in sustainable food security models by altering the dining experience of consumers to better inform them on issues of food security.