The winning-idea for Wilson High School’s winning contest entry came from an on-the-job observation.
Wilson student Marley Bennett noticed the restaurant where she works, like most restaurants, tosses edible — but unsold — leftovers every week. She got to thinking: What if there were a way for restaurants to easily connect with a soup kitchen or food bank?
That’s the concept for the app Wilson students want to create. The idea won first place in Oregon for Verizon’s App Challenge. The concept isn’t limited to food, the app aims to easily connect anyone who has spare goods and services to those who need them.
The statewide prize earned Wilson $5,000 for its computer science department. Wilson is known for its comprehensive computer science program.
Now the students are facing off against the other state champions in the national competition. Winning would mean support to develop and build the app as well as an additional $15,000 for Wilson’s computer science department.
The students are counting on Portlanders to vote, a task fittingly done by cellphone.
“We are competing with other, larger metropolitan areas,” Nathan Jewel said in an email to The Oregonian/OregonLive. “Community involvement will be a huge factor in our winning.”
Voting is open until Feb. 14 and can be done by texting “SUR+” to “22333.”
The team is made up of five Wilson students: Juliette Coia, Simon Haats, Ethan Holmgren, Bennett and Jewell.
View their team page here and the video essay about their app concept here.
— Bethany Barnes
bbarnes@oregonian.com
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