Hack for Food, Hack for Good | Kaunas: the projects

Hack for Food Hack for Good - Kaunas is the third of a serie of hackathon in Europe designed and organized by OpenDot for FEAST - Food systems that support transitions to healthy and sustainable diets, the European project that aims to promote and support the transition towards healthier and sustainable eating habits and against food poverty.

As part of the Feast project, OpenDot acts as a facilitator of innovation and experimentation processes and has identified in the hackathon format the most effective way to identify a solution, starting from one or more "challenges".

The Hackathon synthesizes in fact a creative process that in OpenDot is the order of the day: starting from the real needs of people to find, in a collaborative and co-creative way, social innovation solutions that have technology as the enabling element of change.

In addition to the innovative and technological component, the hackathon allows to involve young people from different disciplines (developers, designers, communication experts  and more) in a challenge that takes place in a limited period of time, thus emphasizing a collaborative mode that must express maximum effectiveness to lead to a satisfactory solution.

For the participants, the hackathon represents both an educational opportunity - because it allows them to learn new methods of collaboration and communication through the effective and concise presentation of their project - both relational and professional because it allows you to meet other students, young professionals and trigger new collaborations.

The winning team wins a mentorship and acceleration program with OpenDot for prototyping the idea.

Living with type 1 diabetes is especially challenging for children, requiring them to adopt unique eating habits, manage medical devices, and adhere to strict schedules, all factors that often disrupt daily life.

To address these challenges, the FEAST Hackathon organized by OpenDot in collaboration with Kaunas University of Technology and the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, focused on creating thoughtful, practical solutions for young diabetes patients. The hackathon's goal was to develop tools that could ease the physical, social, and psychological burdens of managing diabetes while encouraging healthier eating habits.

Held on September 19-20 at the Vivita lab in Kaunas, the event brought together 22 students aged 10-15 and 8 university students aged 18-22 from the Kaunas University of Technology for a collaborative co-design experience. Participants worked together to prototype innovative concepts designed to assist children with diabetes in managing their condition more effectively.

Among the ideas developed were a "hacked" water bottle with compartments for insulin and sugar storage, a miniature insulin measurer to wear on the wrist, a "help box" containing pre-measured meals to assist caregivers in supporting children with diabetes, accessories designed to conceal (while showing them off as fashionable items) diabetes management tools, smart glasses that provide real-time nutritional information about food.

The Sugar Help Box is a dual-unit system designed to support the everyday needs of children with T1D within primary school environments, while promoting a culture of empathy, inclusion, and healthy eating among all students.
The concept responds to two core challenges: the urgent need for children with T1D to access food or medical items during sudden drops in blood sugar, and the frequent lack of awareness or understanding from peers and teachers, which can lead to stigma or exclusion.

DIABottle is a personalized hydration and medical support system designed for adolescents diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). The concept was developed in response to both functional medical needs and social-emotional challenges. Adolescents managing T1D often struggle with maintaining optimal hydration, carrying essential medical tools, and facing social stigma around their condition. DIABottle addresses these issues through an integrated, cool, and user-friendly solution that resonates with teen culture.

The winning concepts earned a two-month mentorship program with OpenDot, in partnership with Kaunas University of Technology and Design Friends, to further develop the project.

The set of accessories “Sleeping Beauty” aims to tackle the problem related to the fact that the pump-machine used by the diabetic kids are rigid and can’t be used with all the outfits. The concept includes: a dress with external pocket that allows you to bring and access the pump; an hair-clip that is also a blonde test device; a soft pillow that wrap for the pump-machine and it can be used overnight; a pillow (that wakes up in case of need).

This solution imagines smart glasses capable of telling you which food and how much food your body needs, what is the best food to eat and how much, in terms of grams, just looking at the food. The original idea is an app capable of communicating with the glass, and able to share recipes and information about food and sugar; the app could also control a water bottle that can be programmed to open at a specific time.

The idea consists in a smart watch that can improve the sensor and pump-machine for diabetic kids. The smart watch should be connected to the sensor to manage the pump, should be waterproof and unbreakable, solar powered, and capable to measure the food weight, to do emergency calls, and to integrate a gps.

This hackathon is part of the European FEAST FEAST - Food systems that support transitions to healthy and sustainable diets (https://feast2030.eu/) which aims to create a food system that benefits both people and the planet.