Chill. was created as a reaction to my observations about food waste behaviors in young adults and those who are less experienced with buying and cooking food. I grew up in a frugal home where we rarely threw away food unless we had reason beyond just the packaging to assume it was unsafe to eat. So when I came to college, it was a shock to see piles of unopened food being tossed away, or even my own food disappearing when others thought they were doing a favor by cleaning out the fridge.

Chill. is formatted as a series of roll printed food labels designed to be taken at the discretion of grocery store shoppers and placed directly on food packaging. Each sticker indicates how long the food is normally considered “good” and how items shelf lives can be extended by weeks or even months if they are frozen or refrigerated, hence the name Chill. Accompanying the design of the stickers themselves, a QR code leads shoppers to the website where the full narrative of the intervention is outlined, in addition to statistics about food waste in the US, where else Chill. stickers can be found and even a reference chart to explain what different terms used on food packaging mean. Both the stickers and code are attached to a dispenser affixed below produce bag dispensers, designed to be inexpensive using a simple die cut, flat packing for shipping to stores, and made out of plastic that is durable and easy to clean. Creating Chill. was an eye opening experience to learn that designers willing to do some thinking and research can create these interactions in real life situations that can have real impact on issues like food waste.