Shortlisted and exhibited at the Grand Challenge 2025 Exhibition: Design Resilience.

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Islington FoodCart is a mobile food system designed to meet the stark inequalities and vibrant diversity of Islington. In a borough where million-pound homes sit minutes from aging estates, and immigrant histories shape every street, food waste is more than discarded scraps — it is a slow erosion of resources, community, and opportunity.

FoodCart responds with a network of satellite carts and a homebase on Caledonian Road, transforming surplus produce into celebrated meals. Recipes draw from the global cuisines that define Islington’s spirit, turning waste reduction into an act of cultural exchange. Prepared centrally, meals are distributed across the borough, with carts stationed at train stops, bus routes, and residential streets — familiar sights announced by jingles, live location updates, and the simple invitation to gather.

Designed for the rhythm of city life, the carts balance mobility, visibility, and warmth, offering food that nourishes not just the body but the ties between neighbours. Alongside every meal, small educational tools — pamphlets, conversation starters — reinforce simple habits that ripple outward into daily life.

More than a service, FoodCart reimagines waste as connection: bridging cultures, classes, and communities through the everyday rituals of eating, sharing, and belonging. It is a system built not just for sustenance, but for solidarity — a design shaped uniquely for Islington’s streets, its people, and its future.

Co-designed with Alex Burgstaller, Auður Gunnarsdóttir, Xinyi Fang and Xiyue An.

Special thank yous to Islington Climate Centre, Caz Royds, Anna Hyde and Crystal Chu.