Ford Motor Company and Ford Motor Company Fund, the company’s philanthropic division, are launching a fresh food delivery pilot in Southwest Detroit this holiday season. This program will be yet another stage in Ford’s recent testing of autonomous vehicles. This six-month project is projected to deliver up to 10,000 pounds of fresh food directly to senior citizens in the Southwest Detroit area whose mobility challenges limit their access to food.
The Rio Vista Detroit Co-op Apartments senior living center already receives regular food deliveries from the complimentary program that Ford Fund and Gleaners Community Food Bank launched earlier this year, Ford Resource and Engagement Center (FREC) on the Go. However, in the near future they will be seeing these deliveries double as a result of this new pilot. More than twenty Rio Vista residents have opted into this service as a way to ensure they get their groceries without needing to arrange transportation.
“CSI and Rio Vista Detroit Co-op are incredibly excited for this collaboration with Ford Motor Company,” said Eric Finkler, co-op liaison of Rio Vista Detroit. “For many seniors in this community, access to transportation is integral for retaining their independence, and the automated vehicle delivery program will help expand our members’ access to groceries, easing one barrier to independent living. Our hope is that with one less thing to worry about, our members can focus on family, coordinating doctor visits, handling day-to-day responsibilities, and spending time on things that they enjoy – like volunteering!”
The pilot uses a low-speed autonomous shuttle operated by the Ford future tech autonomous vehicle team and Quantum Signal AI. This shuttle will run a fixed route between the Southwest Detroit Ford Resource and Engagement Center, where it is loaded with bags of groceries, and Rio Vista, where groceries are distributed to the residents. The shuttle is designed for easy loading and unloading and efficient transfer of the groceries. It will also always have a safety driver inside and can be monitored remotely by an operations team that can intervene on the shuttle if need be.
The shuttle’s exterior was designed by Brooke Snow, a 12th-grader at the Detroit School of Arts, to reflect the Southwest Detroit community that the pilot will be operating in. She received a $5,000 award for this design which she plans to put towards her college expenses.
“Creating mobility experiences centered around people and being inclusive is at the forefront of our thinking as we design future services,” said Robert Moser, global head of experience design at Ford Motor Company. “By collaborating with the community and showcasing this artwork throughout the duration of the pilot, it conveys how we are thinking about building services that make people’s lives better for all – not just one specific group.”
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