AI Tool Helps Improve Access to Healthy Restaurant Options

Abigail Horn and her USC Viterbi team developed MINT, an AI-based model analyzing menus from 600,000 U.S. restaurants to predict nutritional quality. MINT highlights disparities in food access, showing less healthy options in low-income and predominantly Black neighborhoods. It also aids policymakers in identifying healthier dining spots for programs like CalFresh. Horn aims to refine MINT to include ingredient use and processing. This tool aligns with USC’s Frontiers of Computing initiative for ethical advancements in AI.