The Insieme bio is a service designed to make the local organic produce availability convenient and easy to access for residents. The project addresses a critical gap between the desire for healthy, sustainable diets and the practical barriers that prevent people in Bergamo from adopting them. The core problem lies in a mismatch between values and behavior: while many residents want to consume fresh, local, and organic food, their daily routines, especially demanding work schedules, make it difficult to access. Organic stores and farmers’ markets often have limited hours, while supermarkets, though convenient, are not fully trusted in terms of organic labeling.
The research focused on human, environmental and economic impact of organic food availability and access among citizens. Our service redesign solution shows that despite these barriers, strong community trust still exists in local neighborhood shops (ortofruttas), and social relationships influence purchasing decisions. This insight becomes the foundation for the proposed solution.
We proposed a service design solution built around the cooperative Il Sole e la Terra, connecting local farmers directly with working professionals through existing neighborhood shops. Instead of requiring users to change their routines significantly, the solution integrates into their daily lives. Customers can browse and order seasonal, organic produce through a simple digital platform (such as a website or even WhatsApp), then select a nearby ortofrutta as a pickup point.
These local shops act as trusted intermediaries, offering convenient pickup times, transparent product information, and personal connections. Behind the scenes, the cooperative manages logistics, coordinates producers, and ensures fair pricing across stakeholders. This model reduces time-related barriers, increases trust through transparency and proximity, and strengthens the local economy by supporting both farmers and small retailers.
By leveraging existing infrastructure and social trust, the solution creates a scalable, low-risk system that aligns convenience with sustainability, making balanced diets more accessible without requiring major behavioural change.
