There appears to be general desensitization when it comes to the provenance of food and the environmental impact that said consumption entails. Paradoxically, Canadians indicate that they prefer sustainable options on paper, but in reality, most consumers will not pay more for local options. And the choice to buy locally isn’t always black or white. For example, local options aren’t necessarily labelled as such. Some people don’t necessarily know which vegetables can be bought in their hometowns, based on the season. Others shy away from environmental-friendly habits because they haven’t tried before.

Simply telling someone that their habits aren’t sustainable usually results in nothing and borders patronization. On the other hand, while encouraging people to work on local farms can conclude favourably, it remains idealistic.

I decided to find a middle ground. I wanted to build a solution that relies on more than just telling people what is a sustainable purchase, without the implications of manual labour. I settled on the following question:

Can a mobile application help users quantify the environmental impact of their food purchases through gamification features and result in transformational learning?

I created LocalBox. LocalBox gamifies the impact our grocery list can have on the environment. Every purchase we make comes with a price. Specifically, the application relies on rewards, risk and competition. Users interact with the application through personalized menus and are guided towards sustainable decisions.