Super Snax

Super Snax provides healthy alternatives to traditional junk food throughout schools in Somerset and Cambria Counties.
This project was created for the Jefferson Center of Population health, in collaboration with two other designers

The Problem

Diabetes is a growing epidemic in our country. There are 30.3 million people are living with diabetes in the United States. Diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death in the world. 84.1 million people in the United States have prediabetes and without any preventative measures can lead to Type 2 diabetes. Type 2 is manageable with lifestyle modifications, so helping people modify and maintain their lifestyle is the objective of this project. Diabetes is especially a growing concern in Cambria and Somerset counties of Johnstown PA, where 13% of adults have diabetes and 30%-40% of adults are obese. We were asked by Jefferson Center of Population health in Johnstown to design a system that helps fight the diabetes epidemic.

Users & Audience

Our target audience are students in Somerset and Cambria counties in PA. We will be targeting male and female students from grades 1-12 in elementary, middle and high schools. We hope that if we start teaching good food behavior at a young age, the students will continue the lifestyle into their adulthood and reduce the risks of obesity and diabetes

The area of Somerset and Cambria county is rural. They have limited resources and few grocery stores with quality produce and goods. Varying income levels of the student’s families also lead to limited access to healthy food and health care. In addition, the family structure is not always typical, as many kids live with grandparents and/or guardians instead of their biological parents.

Design Process

We created Super Snax in order to effectively change the food behavior of youth in the Somerset and Cambria counties and ensure continued healthy practices. Super Snax is a company that provides healthier alternatives to kid’s favorite snack foods. The snacks are sold in schools throughout Johnstown, PA. The design system includes snack packaging of three favorite snacks — chips, flavored drinks, and snack bars, as well as a promotional booklet, promotional video, an app to incentivize buying our healthier options, and cooking classes available to students and their families to learn how to make healthy snacks at home. Through a superhero theme we engage students and make eating healthy exciting.