2023 NC FPS Community Problem Solving
Junior Division Positive Pollinators
1st place
Knox Guftason, Grey Hall, Gus LaBar, Wyatt Larrick, Isabel Lenihan, Cara Raven, Maggie Roberts, Sana Roy, Sophia Tri, Aksel Welke
Coach Hall Selwyn Elementary
Do you like chocolate? Pizza? Blueberries? If you like these things you can thank a pollinator. They are responsible for 1⁄3 of our food supply but they are on the decline due to human behavior, habitat loss, disease and pesticides. Our project wants to educate our school and neighborhoods about pollinator decline.
Middle Division Project Unforgettable Vegetables
1st place
Claire Chen, Rutwa Patil, Mehar Seth, Raveesh Seth, Ethan Zhang, Brendan Zhou
Coach Patil Metrolina Regional Scholars Academy
In Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, 15% of the population lives in food deserts, which lack convenient supermarkets and healthy food options, leading to a higher risk of obesity and diabetes. With 349 food deserts in the state, over 1.5 million residents are affected. We’re a team of school students named "Unforgettable Vegetables" that aims to improve access to healthy food in the Charlotte Metro Region's West Boulevard area. We plan to set up mobile food carts, transporting food from local farmers that can be purchased through the SNAP program, increasing access to affordable and healthy food for the community.
Senior Division Evolving Team Food Smart
1st Place
Adithya Retheesh, Parvathy Unnikrishnan, & Radhika Unnikrishnan
Coach Shyamala Ardrey Kell & Weddington High Schools
Food wastage occurs in many different areas including in restaurants, households, retailers and grocery stores. Idea is to build stronger connections and relationships between these supermarkets and restaurants with local food banks and shelters to maximize the food recovery. This would feed those that are hungry and thus reduce the food wastage problem in our community, decreasing the consequences related to food waste such as greenhouse gas emissions and the food crisis. A real time Smartphone app will help solve the engagement issues as more and more people rely on mobile devices in everyday life.
Senior Division Evolving PROJECT REFUGEE: NO NEEDS LEFT BEHIND
2nd Place
Vihaan Gaurav, Satvik Gorle, Elsie Nethala, Emily Nethala, Sindhu Sureshkannan, Bumika Vanapalli, Vishnu Vanapalli, Akhil Varukuti, Ajith Varikuti
Coaches Veera & Manchi Metrolina Regional Scholars Academy and Ardrey Kell, Marvin Ridge, & Providence High School
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Refugees are people forced to leave their country because of war, persecution, political turbulence or natural disaster. After the screening process, they are resettled across the United States by non-profit organizations that are contracted by the government. When refugees arrive in this unfamiliar country, they are unaware of American laws and customs that didn't exist in their country of origin. PROJECT REFUGEE identified the lack of legal literacy that these refugees possessed. PROJECT REFUGEE’s solutions increased the legal literacy of the refugees by distributing informative flyers, doing a car seat drive, and spreading awareness through social media.
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Senior Division Grow FPS in the Carolinas
Honorable Mention
Parvathy Unnikrishnan & Radhika Unnikrishnan
Coach Shyamala Weddington High School
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Like in all areas, pandemic had a huge impact in NC FPS participation rate. After identifying the growing need for an increase in participation for the Carolinas’ Future Problem Solving Program, our team decided to begin the project Grow FPS in Carolinas in order to improve membership. Through outreach events at school and local community, we were able to recruit many teams and individuals in NC and SC state. This team created a magical way to grow our FPS program not just in North Carolina but also in South Carolina! By coaching teams and individuals themselves, they are spreading the message and passion of what it means to be a problem solver while growing greatness for the future of FPS!
CmPS INDIVIDUALS
Middle Division Individual Reducing the Food Waste Going to Landfills
Honorable Mention
Aadarsh Lakshmanan
Coach Gururajan Metrolina Regional Scholars Academy
North Carolina suffers from problems with methane emissions due to the large amount of food waste ending up in landfills. 15% of methane emissions come from Landfills, and 21.5% of landfill result from Food Waste. My mission is to educate the community on how to reduce waste going to landfills so that the people of Charlotte Mecklenburg county can be safer and more healthy so that we can move towards a zero-waste environment in 2023 and beyond.