AMERICA'S SECOND HARVEST HONORED AS 2006 TECH MUSEUM AWARDS LAUREATE
Five Finalists to Share $250,000 Prize for Applying Technology to Benefit Humanity
CHICAGO – September 21, 2006 – The Tech Museum of Innovation, one of the country's leading science and technology museums, announced today America’s Second Harvest — The Nation's Food Bank Network as a 2006 Tech Museum Awards Laureate. The Tech Museum of Innovation, located in San Jose, California, named 25 Laureates for the prestigious Tech Museum Awards Program, presented by Applied Materials, Inc., which celebrates those who leverage new and existing technologies to benefit humanity. This esteemed group of Laureates was selected from among 951 entries received representing 98 countries by program partner, Santa Clara University’s Center for Science, Technology, and Society.
America’s Second Harvest has been named a Laureate for the Katherine M. Swanson Equality Award.
"We are extremely pleased that The Choice System has been chosen for this honor," said Vicki Escarra, President and CEO of America’s Second Harvest. "This system took many years to design and implement, but it has greatly improved the efficiency and capacities of our operation."
The America's Second Harvest network annually provides food and grocery products through a Network of more than 200 food banks to 25 million Americans at risk of hunger each year.
In 2005, America's Second Harvest implemented The Choice System, a new allocation program, which gives food banks the opportunity to share surplus product with the Network in exchange for shares. The Choice System design also includes a Fairness and Equity Committee, whose purpose is to allocate supplemental resources to food banks that suffer from service area challenges, such as poor local food resources, high transportation costs, high costs of living, and economic disaster.
In order to provide a system that would be logical and accessible to all levels of food bank staff, America's Second Harvest developed a web-based allocation system that is similar in design and theory to some popular online commercial auction sites and trading platforms. The Choice System is an allocation tool that allows food banks to bid on the specific product donations they wish to bring to their warehouses and distribute to agencies in their community. The technological framework for the bidding system is a web-based portal that does not require custom software or hardware on the client side.
On November 15, 2006, at the Tech Museum Awards Gala, hosted by NFL legend and member of the Tech Museum’s Board of Directors, Steve Young, leaders from Silicon Valley and delegates from the United Nations will join together to honor all 25 Laureates, and one Laureate from each of the five categories will be awarded a $50,000 cash honorarium.
In addition to the 25 Laureates being honored, Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will be presented with the 2006 James C. Morgan Global Humanitarian Award, sponsored by Applied Materials.
"The Tech Museum Awards, presented by Applied Materials, Inc., are an incredibly important way to call attention to some of the most meaningful innovations in science and technology in the world, and to the often unsung heroes behind them," said Peter Friess, President of The Tech. "The Laureates who we honor serve as great role models to future generations of inventors and engineers, and their work reminds us that innovation can be applied in profound ways to benefit humanity and the world."
James Koch, executive director of the Global Social Benefit Incubator at Santa Clara University's Center for Science, Technology and Society commented, "Each year's award submissions give us a glimpse at global trends and issues that we might not have had insight into otherwise." Koch further noted that the prevalence of East/West alliances between Europe, North America, and Asia have been replaced with North/South alliances linking developed countries of the Northern Hemisphere and developing nations of the Southern Hemisphere.
Sponsors of the five Tech Museum Award, presented by Applied Materials, Inc., categories are: Intel for the Environment Award; Accenture for the Economic Development Award; Microsoft for the Education Award; Agilent Technologies Foundation for the Health Award; and the Swanson Foundation for the Katherine M. Swanson Equality Award.
The Tech Museum Awards, presented by Applied Materials, Inc., represents a collaborative effort among educational institutions and businesses. Silicon Valley leaders supporting The Tech Museum Awards include presenting sponsor Applied Materials and Santa Clara University’s Center for Science, Technology, and Society. Award category sponsors include Intel, Accenture, Microsoft, Agilent Technologies Foundation and The Swanson Foundation. Program sponsors include Wells Fargo, KPMG, Celerity, Cadence, Genentech, The Skoll Foundation, Santa Clara Valley National Bank, Hewlett-Packard, NBC11, The San Jose Mercury News, American Airlines and The Fairmont San Jose. For more information about The Tech Museum Awards, visit www.techawards.org
About The Tech Museum of Innovation:
The Tech Museum of
Innovation is an interactive technology and science experience. Located in
San Jose, California – the Capital of Silicon Valley – its mission, as a
public-benefit corporation, is to inspire the innovator in everyone.
Through hands-on exhibits, educational programs, the annual Tech Challenge
student team competition, and the internationally recognized Tech Museum Awards,
presented by Applied Materials, Inc., The Tech Museum of Innovation honors the
past, celebrates the present, and encourages the development of innovative ideas
for a more promising future. For more information about The Tech Museum of
Innovation, visit www.thetech.org.
Contact:
Ross
Fraser
America's Second Harvest
312.641.6422
Terry
Boyle
The Tech Museum of
Innovation
408.795.6112
Brian Adams or Michael
Plough
Orloff/Williams &
Co.
408.293.1791
