Cultured Cooking

The project, Cultured Cooking was actually a good project that really caught my attention, and I am not saying that because of the food that was provided. The idea of having people become exposed to different cultures while helping those in the process is actually an amazing idea. As it has been mentioned, there are many Americans who have never truly experienced any other culture outside of what they are accustomed to. For example, this was the very first time that I myself have ever tried a Mexican and Colombian empanada. Not only was it delicious, but it also made a good first impression on their project. The overall project was basically similar to Blue Apron, but for a better cause. The money that is earned will be sent to those in need of food.There would be a country of the month which would determine what type of food would be delivered to your home. Within that theme there would be four meals that would be sent to your home which fall under breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. In addition to that, there are ingredients that are listed that are provided in order for people to know what they are consuming, and if there is something that can’t be eaten, then alternatives are available. Personally, I think this is a great idea, but there are a few concerns I did have.

My first concern was certain ingredients. There may certain countries that serve “unique” dishes that other people would not be willing to try ( trust me, I don’t think many people will be wanting to try warthog anus any time soon).  People can change a few items on the menu, but there can be no significant change or else it would take away from the purpose of the program. I suppose this does make sense since the purpose is to get people to expand their boundaries, but you can’t bring in much money if people won’t want to try it. However, this does sort of prepare those who do want to travel abroad, because there are certain restaurants that won’t appreciate ingredient changes all that much. Aside from that, another concern is cost. I know that some of these ingredients can’t be cheap, especially if there are certain foods that are only in another country. However, foods here ain’t so cheap either. Prices are rising and organics were never something that was of little value. Therefore, I don’t think that $50 bucks a month would cut it. Overall, I still think that it’s a good idea with the for the dauntingly adventurous.

Pantry Review

  This project was another non-profit project that would be based on feeding homeless people and those who were struggling financially. Although it's a very common idea especially in charity organizations, they integrated vending machines and finger scanners into these said vending machines. 

The vending machines would be all around the city of Memphis but mostly in places that are known to be impoverished. The vending machines would have food like granola bars, water, crackers, etc. They would be accessible via fingerprint that the person would have to be registered to access the contents of the machine. There would be the main building for the project that would be where people would sign up and include how many people there were in their family and so on. Given this information and their income, the person would be allowed to withdraw x amount of items in a given set of time that would refresh most likely daily.   The machines would be bolted into the ground so a particularly hungry person with a truck couldn't tow the whole machine and there were a few discussions about the look of the machine. Many said that the contents shouldn't be seen and instead digital images should be shown instead while others vouched for the simple glass cover that clearly showed the contents. 

One concern that annoyed me was  "will the machine be easily seen?" A lot of people were worrying about the visibility of the machine because apparently being seen using a charitable vending machine is bad. I understand that it feels bad to show that you lack money for basic necessities and its embarrassing but those who are truly struggling to get by most likely do not care if the machine is smack middle in a bustling city. It's why you see so many beggars on the side of the street with signs. They are admitting they need aid and I think they would be grateful for the machine no matter the location and making it seem like a regular machine or trying to hide its purpose seems trivial. I've been in a position like that before and I didn't mind at all when I got food because at the end of the day I had a meal and not having stomach pains at night is a lot better than feeling self-conscious and skipping out on food because I'm embarrassed. I think this project will do some good since it has a unique twist that will be able to help more people than projects similar to it.

A Second Chance For Homeless People

              Second Win by the second group was a really good idea in trying to help homeless people get back into society and find a job. Homeless is a big problem in Memphis that needs a solution. The biggest problem that homeless people have is that they don’t have a home. I do agree with what Dr. J said that what homeless people needing is a home. I think as part of the program, homes should be added so it can be easier for homeless people to look and keep a job. When you go look for a job, you must put an address and that makes it hard for homeless people because they don’t have anywhere to live. Also, having a home would make it easier for homeless people to keep clean and look presentable. Homeless people probably know how to take care of themselves, but they do not have somewhere to do at. Like Dr. J mentioned, the program could look for people who might be willing to volunteer their house for homeless people, so they can have a somewhere to sleep at night. Additionally, maybe the program could find partners who would help make more shelters where homeless people could spend the night and have an address. The program can maybe have a place that the homeless people could use as an address, so they can put on the job application. I think once the program can figure the house situation, the rest of the things that the program is offering can impact the lives of homeless people in a good way.

              The idea about this program could really work. Having all these different things that help a homeless person look presentable can make a difference. We know that first impressions count, and these types of things can change the life of a homeless person. There are many people out there are willing volunteer their services to help other people and this program could be great for them. One person can really change the life of someone else for the better. This program would help many homeless people start a new life and it would help have less homeless people in Memphis.  

              The presentation itself was good and very informative. The video on the website was shocking. Just having the resources to change your appearance can make a total difference on how someone can look. That guy from the video looked so much younger once he had his hair and beard cut and put in a suit. The video reminded of this video I saw a few days before on Facebook of this guy going about and cutting homeless’ hair for free. I love watching these types of videos because it shows that not all people forget that homeless people are also humans who just need a little bit of help.

mentality reality

   this project by far was the best one that I heard. the idea to give those with mental illnesses or problems a better place to deal with their emotions is fantastic. I thought they put a lot of good wrok into their project as well. making the videos themselves, even just the website was really good to, it was definetly well put together. of course like every other project, money comes in to play, but im sure if this was an actual plan, there would be no reason that they couldn't come up with the funds needed to represent this idea. all in all, I really did like this idea and thought that it could be really helpful. Im actually glad that a good group, took the time and effort to come up with a good idea.

A Better Meal Review

            A Better Meal was an attempt to feed the hunger but the means were terrible. The idea to give hungry almost expired food bothered me. I almost did not like the idea of taking excess food from restaurants because what if the food is bad or burnt. Sometimes restaurants are not clean and can hurt the customers if the food is bad. How would the food be regulated? I think it would be better to focus on nonperishable food because you are asking the food banks to rush and cook whatever they are given. Another problem is what if the food the food bank is given has been tampered with? If the food bank received the food, they would have to cook it that day for the homeless and this is a bad idea. Since the food bank already has plans of what is going to be cooked that day, they would need some type of way of knowing what is coming in so they can know what they are expecting and what they may need to change.

            I thought the app was an interesting concept. I thought it was cool how it can look at a receipt and know when the food would be expired. But now that I think about that is problematic and unachievable. How would an app know what day it was made or selected and what kind of app is able to scan the exact food you are talking about? Would this app be tied to every grocery store and have a barcode system linked in? Also how many days would it be before the app lets you know that it is time to take it to the food bank? Final question about the app, will the food you already used automatically disappear or would you have to remove it from the app manually?

            The reach of this app is wild. First of all, no Lyft driver, or Uber, or any driver that gets paid in that way for that matter will driver all the way to someone’s house just to pick up almost expired food and drive it to one of the very few food banks in Memphis just for free. Also, this app is only aimed at older people who go shopping and cook often. Most apps are used for the younger crowds and this does not reach them. Overall, the idea was nice and important to acknowledge but it has more flaws that were not thought out. 

Mentality Reality Review

I think Mentality Reality was a great project.  I think the website, if it were real, would help a whole lot of people. I believe the group worked very hard on the concept for their project. Mental health is something that many people tend to overlook but it is a major issue for lots of people in the world. The group was very thorough with and did a good job on explaining their mission and what things you could do to help. I like how they explained the different types of mental issues and that people with these problems are not alone in life. I also enjoyed that even some group members did videos of themselves drawing/playing an instrument and put it on the website. I especially liked when the dad had his little dancing video. I know of people that have mental health issues. I think music is a great idea for the website. Music has been said to be a great way to relieve stress and calm people down in some situations. Music is a great stress reliever for me, especially. Art is also a great addition. I was surprised by the art video and how calming it actually was. It made me want to look into it more. Some people love to look at art as a way to calm themselves. I would add some types of things that appeal to people who like to watch videos in hopes that the videos would help them relax when they have mental health complications. Like videos about how things are made, or videos about people painting or creating something. Another good addition would be to add an exercise section. Often, some people find doing physical exercise as a good way to relieve stress and relax from problems of mental health issues. For instance, some people like to run, or bike, or do things like yoga. Yoga for beginners and intermediate would be something nice. It could be added to give people an option on other things to do. I do not recall if this was apart of the presentation or not, but I think there should be some type of suggestion section for hot lines to help people talk through what they are feeling. Along with that I believe there should perhaps be a section for comments. Mentality Reality is probably one of the best presentations I have seen.

A Better Meal App

https://marvelapp.com/32hh0cd/screen/35695979

Mentality Reality

Mentality Reality is probably one of the best presentations I have seen. Considering myself, I have anxiety/depression. I enjoy every single thing about it. I myself enjoying drawing, listening to music and playing games. The group was very thorough with and did a good job on explaining their mission and what things you could do to help. I like how they explained the different types of mental issues and that people with these problems are not alone in life. I also enjoyed that even some group members even did videos of themselves drawing/playing an instrument and put it on the website. Let's all admit it, the dude that was playing the electric guitar was pretty cool! This was a simple but detailed awesome project that was not too much nor too simple.