MEAL: Model of Empathy Augmented Logistics for Food Security



Abstract

Millions globally lack access to nutritious food, experiencing food insecurity. Despite growing recognition and efforts, equitable distribution remains hard due to limited resources and the diverse preferences of users. The problem of equitable food distribution requires a robust, socially intelligent infrastructure. We propose Meal (Model of Empathy Augmented Logistics for Food Security), a novel approach based on a multistakeholder recommendation system for food allocation, balancing user needs and society’s sustainability. Unlike existing systems that focus on either user satisfaction or logistical operations, our model considers both users and food banks, dynamically adapting to changing preferences and resource availability. Our simulated experiments demonstrate improvement in metrics such as over single-stakeholder models, suggesting significant potential for improved food access and resource utilization in addressing food insecurity.

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