Chapter 1 – A Seed Is Planted

In late 2023, Dr. Kevin Lyons of Rutgers passes the torch to Dr. Edward Sanchez, challenging him to prototype a hyper-local food supply chain that links Newark's community gardens to corner bodegas. ✦

Chapter 2 – Building the Core Team

Early 2024: Dr. Sanchez recruits Kevin Kim (3SP Club), who in turn connects with Jensy Jimenez—fresh off his Title V Peer-Leader role and data-analytics bootcamp. Together, they outline needs for logistics, data wrangling, and community outreach. ✦

Chapter 3 – From Vision to Pilot

Spring 2024 sees weekly white-board sessions where the trio map warehouse utilization KPIs, sketch cold-chain routes, and secure initial produce commitments from two urban gardens in the Ironbound. ✦

Chapter 4 – The Flow-Chain Cohort

By Summer 2024 Estrella Luna, Shanandra Ubiera, Michael La Torre, Riley O'Sullivan, and Yulissa Aguila join—rounding out biology, communications, business ops, marketing, and full-stack skills. Team Flow Chain is born. ✦

Chapter 5 – Looking Ahead

Nothing here is finished—yet. The next milestones: integrate IoT temp loggers, publish our open-source dashboard, and onboard ten bodegas by Summer 2026. The seedling has sprouted; now we cultivate. ✦

Chapter 6 – Year Two: New Team, New Goals

As we enter the second season of this story, our vision continues to grow. We are currently developing a dedicated app—similar in concept to Too Good To Go—to build a decentralized network of local food sources.

This app will connect food generators across the community, including:

How It Works: These locations that generate fresh produce will use the platform to sell their yields at a low cost or give them away for free. The app will also include features to specifically designate if crops are going bad soon, ensuring nothing goes to waste.

Ultimately, this initiative is meant to keep our community's produce strictly local and fresh. ✦