Annie Zhu spent her senior year of High School in Houston, Texas doing all the normal teen things like prom, graduation, and creating an app to help redistribute food waste to those who need it most. For her work, she earned the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes. Her app, Fresh Hub, teamed up with grocery stores and bakeries in the area that bring their goods to food desert neighborhoods. Thanks to Annie, everyone gets to enjoy a grocery store.
"My projects, Fresh Hub and Readiness Across Mathematics, would not have been possible without the parlayed efforts from a diverse group of people," said Annie. "To me, the Gloria Barron Prize celebrates us all by recognizing the importance of these programs, which I am tremendously grateful for."
Zhu was one of the 15 winners of the award across all of North America.
THough Zhu founded the app, she has since brought her twin sister on to the project to help expand its scope.
"First, we have been training younger volunteers to continue our work even after we graduate," Zhu said. "And second, we are starting to work with students in other cities to potentially set up other branches of Fresh Hub in other regions."
Zhu will be attending a four-year university to study education and computer science next year, hoping to use her talents to make the world a better place.