Award Abstract # 2236305
NSF Convergence Accelerator Track J: Artificial-Intelligence-Based Decision Support for Equitable Food and Nutrition Security in the Houston Area

NSF Org: ITE
Innovation and Technology Ecosystems
Recipient: UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON SYSTEM
Initial Amendment Date: December 9, 2022
Latest Amendment Date: December 9, 2022
Award Number: 2236305
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: Michael Reksulak
mreksula@nsf.gov
 (703)292-8326
ITE
 Innovation and Technology Ecosystems
TIP
 Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships
Start Date: December 15, 2022
End Date: November 30, 2025 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $749,995.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $749,995.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2023 = $749,995.00
History of Investigator:
  • Ioannis Kakadiaris (Principal Investigator)
    ioannisk@uh.edu
  • Daniel Price (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • Susie Gronseth (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • Junfeng Jiao (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • Norma Olvera (Co-Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: University of Houston
4300 MARTIN LUTHER KING BLVD
HOUSTON
TX  US  77204-3067
(713)743-5773
Sponsor Congressional District: 18
Primary Place of Performance: University of Houston
4800 W CALHOUN ST STE 316
HOUSTON
TX  US  77004
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
18
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): QKWEF8XLMTT3
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s): Convergence Accelerator Resrch
Primary Program Source: 01002324DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s):
Program Element Code(s): 131Y00
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.084

ABSTRACT

Disadvantaged communities continue to be afflicted with health issues due to limited access to nutritious food and inadequate knowledge about healthy food choices. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these issues. One of the most critical steps in addressing food insecurity is to improve understanding of the resources required and the challenges faced in procurement, distribution, access, and utilization of food resources in underserved communities. On the demand side, stakeholders must identify the nutritional needs, cultural preferences, and food preparation equipment and supplies of food-insecure households. If an individual does not know what a particular food is nor how to prepare it, it will go to waste, and the efforts of the food charity ecosystem will fail. On the supply side, stakeholders must streamline logistics and improve communication and coordination to optimize the supply chain (upstream procurement and downstream distribution) to minimize inefficiencies and coordinate the efforts of various food charities.

Through a community-driven approach, this project brings together civic collaborators with university researchers to develop and build a locally-oriented food charity ecosystem based on data-driven smart technologies in the Greater Houston region. Our socio-technical approach addresses four overall research questions: (1) How can we redefine, model, and predict food deserts? (2) How can we minimize food waste? (3) How can we impact nutrition literacy? (4) How can we measure the health effects of having access to culturally appropriate nutritious food?
These questions drive the following objectives: (i) Assess, model, and predict geographic areas with limited access to affordable and nutritious food; (ii) Analyze communities to find untapped strengths in preparing culturally appropriate recipes and transfer this knowledge to like-minded community members, (iii) Build infrastructure for food pantries to provide culturally appropriate food they have in stock and recipes/food preparation instructions, (iv) Create a blockchain-based marketplace for food donations, (v) Develop educational material in multiple languages and partner with Community Health Workers to disseminate it, and (vi) Measure the health effects of having access to culturally appropriate nutritious food.
Our multidisciplinary team brings together researchers in computer science, urban planning, community engagement, nutrition education/community healthy lifestyle program development, supply chain, measurement and evaluation, and a diverse set of ?on the ground? practitioner partners. Our team is focused on turning research into action. The decision-making tools will be disseminated to other food ecosystem members to address all aspects of culturally aware food distribution.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

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