Congratulations to Winners and Finalists in the 2021 Challenge Season!

Here are the top competitors in the 2021-22 academic year NFTE World Series of Innovation.

PIMCO Food Equity Challenge - 2021

The Challenge: The Challenge: Design a solution to address disparities (racial or other) in access, to help ensure that all people, at all times, have enough nutritious food and other resources to live healthy, active lives.

Winners

• First Place: Verdant City, a three-tiered city-wide project that aims to reduce produce distance by connecting local schools to produce. Developed by 16-year-old Redding Baldwin, 16-year-old Taj Melhuish, and 17-year-old Jack McCuddin, students at Episcopal School of Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California See their video here.
• Second Place: Grains for Migrants, a mobile app geared towards establishing partnerships between wholesale producers and migrants to address the lack of access to quality foods to underserved migrant communities. Developed by 18-year-old Jiaheng Yin and 17-year-old Justin Cheong, students at Hwa Chong Institution in Singapore. See their video here.
• Third Place: Last Call, a mobile app that serves as a directory to allow low-income families access to affordable groceries in Santa Clara County. Developed by 17-year-old Charlise Lardizabal and 17-year-old Lara Bella, students at Independence High School in San Jose, California. See their video here.

Finalists

• Buddy’s Bug Burger, a bug-based burger alternative made from a Panamanian family recipe to reduce the cost of food production for farmers and consumers. Developed by a team from Coral Reef Senior High School in Miami, Florida. See their video here.
• Connect4Food, a food map that connects nonprofits to people in need of meals. Developed by a team from Silver Creek High School in San Jose, California. See their video here.
• Project Oasis, distributes liquid nanoclay (LNC) in Native reservations to increase access to sustainable agriculture in otherwise barren food deserts. Developed by a team from Abraham Lincoln High School in San Francisco, California. See their video here.
• Savvy Shopper, a mobile-app that helps users and grocers locate discounted grocery items and understand food expiration labels. Developed by a team from Westridge School in Pasadena, California. See their video here.
• Young Farmers Training and Revival Organization, an initiative dedicated to training BIPOC communities to work as skilled farmers to produce organic and nutritious food on their own for profit. Developed by a team from Korea International School Jeju in Seogwipo, South Korea. See their video here.
• Fresno Farmer’s Market, a local grocery start-up that prioritizes in-season produce in Fresno, California. Developed by a team from Silver Creek High School in Fresno, California.
• Food Scanner, an AI-assisted camera that tracks food waste in school lunch cafeterias. Developed by a team from SMIC Private School.