AARP Foundation and InnoCentive Announce Winners of Two Challenges Aimed at Improving the Lives of Older Americans

 AARP Foundation and InnoCentive Announce Winners of Two Challenges Aimed at
                    Improving the Lives of Older Americans

Prize-Based Competitions Sought Innovative Ideas for Preventing, Reducing, or
Eliminating Food Insecurity and the Number of Food Deserts Among Adults Age 50
and Older

PR Newswire

WALTHAM, Mass., Feb. 4, 2013

WALTHAM, Mass., Feb. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- InnoCentive, Inc., the global
leader in open innovation, crowdsourcing, and prize competitions, and AARP
Foundation, AARP's charitable affiliate, today announced the winners of two
Challenges that sought innovative ideas for long-term, sustainable programs
aimed at preventing, reducing, or eliminating food insecurity and the number
of food deserts, respectively, among adults 50 and older without reliance on
food provisions by third-party providers or benefits assistance, such as food
stamps. Three Solvers were awarded a total of $25,000 for their winning
submissions. Overall, the two Challenges attracted more than 1,000 Solvers who
submitted a total of 179 solutions.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120711/NE38133LOGO )

"With more than 9 million older adults facing the threat of hunger, we are
always looking for creative solutions to help tackle this pressing issue,"
said Jo Ann Jenkins, president of AARP Foundation. "Working with InnoCentive
and its novel crowdsourcing approach is putting us on the right path to making
sure low-income, aging adults get enough to eat."

In collaboration with InnoCentive, AARP Foundation launched the AARP
Foundation Pavilion on InnoCentive.com in July 2012, along with the first two
Challenges of the AARP Foundation-InnoCentive Challenge Series. The Drive to
End Hunger – Elimination of Food Deserts Challenge sought ideas for reducing
or eliminating "food deserts," defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture
as a "low-income census tract where a substantial number or share of residents
has low access to a supermarket or large grocery store." The Drive to End
Hunger – Sustainable Solutions Challenge sought ideas for long-term,
sustainable solutions that prevent food insecurity from happening in the first
place or that reduce an older adult's vulnerability to food insecurity in a
significant way. Three Solvers were awarded a total of $25,000 for their
winning submissions:

  o People's Emergency Center and the West Philadelphia Food Hub –  Winner of
    the Elimination of Food Deserts Challenge. The West Philly Food Hub, in
    partnership with People's Emergency Center (PEC), Greensgrow Farms,
    Preston's Paradise, and Drexel University, will operate a permanent
    neighborhood market to expand their existing mobile fresh food
    distribution program to low-income senior housing facilities in West
    Philadelphia. With the support of the AARP Foundation, West Philly Food
    Hub can continue pre-development work on its market, budget for future
    senior programming at the site, and expand mobile distribution to two
    additional senior centers. For more information, please visit:
    www.pec-cares.org and www.westphillyfoodhub.org.
  o Deneene Brockington on behalf of Equal Dollars Community Currency (a
    program of Resources for Human Development) –  Winner of the Sustainable
    Solutions Challenge. Equal Dollars Community Currency is the basis of this
    sustainable solution to food insecurity among low-income, urban adults age
    50 and older. The organization's local currency system facilitates the
    exchange and production of goods and services, including the sponsorship
    of two weekly fresh produce food markets and an urban micro farm. Older
    adults obtain Equal Dollars by volunteering, offering services or goods to
    other members and then, completing the cycle, they use the currency to
    purchase affordable, locally grown produce and food goods for themselves,
    family members and friends, and others in need in the community. For more
    information, please visit: www.equaldollars.org and www.rhd.org.
  o Angelic Organics Learning Center –  A second winner of the Sustainable
    Solutions Challenge, along with an additional $5,000 award. The "Full of
    Life: Cares and Shares" Project creates a sustainable, long-term solution
    to food insecurity among older adults in Rockford, Illinois by
    establishing a local, urban Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm in
    which at least 10 senior citizens receive free bi-weekly shares of
    healthy, locally grown produce and connect with each other and local teens
    in their community. Other community members can purchase shares of produce
    to help offset the cost of discounted shares. The project was developed
    and is led by the Roots & Wings Youth Leaders, a youth group focused on
    urban agriculture and youth leadership development facilitated by Angelic
    Organics Learning Center, a non-profit organization that helps urban and
    rural people build local food systems in northern Illinois and southern
    Wisconsin. For more information, please visit: www.learngrowconnect.org.

"We were delighted by the participation from our Solvers in these important
Challenges and our heartfelt congratulations go out to the three winners,"
said Dwayne Spradlin, CEO of InnoCentive. "We are immensely grateful for our
collaboration with AARP Foundation to help solve pressing problems affecting
older Americans and we look forward to future Challenges focused on this most
worthy of causes."

About AARP Foundation
AARP Foundation is working to win back opportunity for struggling Americans
50+ by being a force for change on the most serious issues they face today:
housing, hunger, income and isolation. By coordinating responses to these
issues on all four fronts at once, and supporting them with vigorous legal
advocacy, the Foundation serves the unique needs of those 50+ while working
with local organizations nationwide to reach more people, work more
efficiently and make resources go further. AARP Foundation is AARP's
affiliated charity. Learn more at www.aarpfoundation.org

About InnoCentive
InnoCentive is the global leader in crowdsourcing innovation problems to the
world's smartest people who compete to provide ideas and solutions to
important business, social, policy, scientific, and technical challenges. Our
global network of millions of problem solvers, proven challenge methodology,
and cloud-based technology combine to help our clients transform their
economics of innovation through rapid solution delivery and the development of
sustainable open innovation programs. For more than a decade, leading
organizations such as AARP Foundation, Air Force Research Labs, Booz Allen
Hamilton, Cleveland Clinic, Eli Lilly & Company, EMC Corporation, NASA, Nature
Publishing Group, Procter & Gamble, Scientific American, Syngenta, The
Economist, Thomson Reuters, UnitedHealthcare, and the U.S. EPA have partnered
with InnoCentive to rapidly generate innovative new ideas and solve problems
faster, more cost effectively, and with less risk than ever before. For more
information, visit www.innocentive.com, email info@innocentive.com, or call
1-855-CROWDNOW (U.S.) or +44 (0) 207 935 0827 (International).

Media Contacts:

Steve Bonadio
InnoCentive, Inc.
978-482-3300
press@innocentive.com

Kiley Nichols
Schwartz MSL for InnoCentive
415-512-0770
innocentive@schwartzmsl.com

Hillary John
AARP Media Relations
202-434-2560
hjohn@aarp.org

SOURCE InnoCentive, Inc.

Website: http://www.innocentive.com