Local Fresh
Usability Testing
Overview
Local Fresh is a food relief app that connects users living in food deserts with mobile markets so they can access healthy and affordable food locally.
This project started as a Google UX Design Certificate case study. Revisited, refined, and rebuilt — with AI-assisted research, a clearer problem framing, and a deeper commitment to the communities it serves.
"Having lived in an area with unequal food access, I empathize with those facing limited food options, motivating me to find solutions for food deserts." - Gretchen Mars
Goal
Healthy food shouldn't be a logistics problem. Local Fresh brings mobile markets to underserved Southern California communities — removing the transportation, cost, and time barriers between people and fresh food.
Project Summary
Nearly 1 in 4 Los Angeles residents struggle to access fresh food consistently. Local Fresh is designed to change that — a platform that connects underserved communities with mobile markets and community hubs, built around the real barriers of transportation, affordability, and time.
Fresh food. Close to home.
Local Fresh connects people in food deserts with mobile markets, making healthy and affordable eating accessible to every community.
For millions of LA residents, healthy food is nearby — just not reachable. Local Fresh brings mobile markets with fresh produce to underserved neighborhoods — removing the transportation, cost, and time barriers between people and healthy food.
Story
1 in 4 Southern California residents can't consistently access fresh food. Local Fresh connects underserved communities with mobile markets — creating equal opportunities to eat healthy, close to home.
What is Local Fresh?
Local Fresh is a mobile app and responsive website that brings fresh, affordable produce to underserved Southern California communities — designed around the real barriers of transportation, cost, and time.
What makes Local Fresh unique?
Most apps assume you can get to the store. Local Fresh doesn't. Geolocation and transit-aware planning bring mobile markets directly to the neighborhoods that need them most.
Problem
Finding fresh produce in a food dessert is hard. Local Fresh helps users find mobile markets that brings fresh produce to food deserts – making eating healthy more convenient and affordable.
In Southern California, fresh produce is out of reach for millions of residents. Local Fresh brings mobile markets to underserved communities — making healthy food accessible without the commute.
Finding fresh produce in a food desert is hard.
Local Fresh helps people find mobile markets bringing fresh produce to food deserts — answering one question in seconds: is a market coming, and can I get there?
For millions of Southern California residents, access to fresh, healthy food is constrained by transportation, affordability, and availability barriers—making nutritious options difficult to access.
Research Findings
Access, Not Availability, Is the Real Challenge
Food insecurity remains high
Approximately 24% of residents in Los Angeles County experienced food insecurity in 2025.
Around 25% of households reported difficulty consistently accessing enough nutritious food. South and East Los Angeles continue to experience some of the highest concentrations of food insecurity and limited grocery access.
Food access is about more than distance
Research showed that users are often prevented from buying fresh food because of: Limited access to reliable transportationLong travel times to full-service grocery stores.
Higher prices at nearby convenience storesLimited time after work or childcare responsibilitiesUncertainty about where affordable fresh food is availableThis shifted your case study from simply solving a "food desert" problem to solving an accessibility and mobility problem.
When design is used for good, it can dramatically improve people's lives and bring healthy food to the desert.