Anthropology student Catherine Hayes makes semi-finals of 2016 Eden Entrepreneurship Challenge

    Wednesday, May 4, 2016 - 15:15

    Veg Truck - Catherine Hayes, 3rd year Anthropology

    Semi-Finalist 2016 Eden Entrepreneurship Challenge
     

    VegTruck was entered in the 2016 Eden Entrepreneurship Challenge https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/eden/2016-entrepreneurship-challenge , and made it as far as the semi-finals on Thursday 21st April. Four competitors went forward to the finals on Friday 29th April

     

    We transport fresh veg and fruit from field to warehouse to shop to home to bin. According to www.stopfoodwaste.ie every Irish person wastes 80Kg of food every year, at an annual cost of €400-€1,000 per household. Our homes are getting smaller, our carbon footprint is getting bigger and Brexit stands to upset our balance of payments. As a nation we do not eat enough veg and fruit. Ill health due to obesity and Type 2 diabetes is rising steadily.
     
    VegTruck proposes to intervene in all these trends. It is a small vegetable trolley on wheels, designed to live in a shady space outside the back door in our temperate Irish climate, to be wheeled in at
    meal preparation time and out later.  It has a specially modified container for potatoes which must be stored in a dark, cool, airy, dry space.  Other tiers are modified for storage of root veg, citrus fruits, herbs in pots.  Salad veg and soft fruits will continue to be stored in the fridge.
     
    VegTruck’s chief appeal is that it enables sensory engagement with veg and fruit which would otherwise be shut away in a dark fridge drawer and might be forgotten. ‘See, touch, feel and smell’ become the terms and conditions of engagement. Children will participate in meal preparation and gradually consume a wider range of veg and fruit, older people will be able to store more veg and fruit at home and remain autonomous for longer.