On Wednesday December 2, BigApps NYC chose Benefit Kitchen as the grand prize winner in the category of civic engagement. According to NYC EDC “NYC BigApps 2015 asks entrants to make the city a better place for all New Yorkers by addressing four issues identified in Mayor de Blasio’s OneNYC plan for a strong, sustainable, resilient, and equitable city: Affordable Housing, Zero Waste, Connected Cities, and Civic Engagement.” A press release from the mayor’s office describes the project in more detail.

The day began with a three-minute pitch to the BigApps 2015 Selection Committee Judges who assessed ten projects in the civic engagement category. That evening Drew Lesicko, from AOL Alpha, presented us with the award for their work on Benefit Kitchen. Two other very worthy projects, Addicaid and IssueVoter, were also selected for judges’ choice awards in the category.

We at Benefit Kitchen are pleased to be working with city officials to highlight their progressive anti-poverty programs and AccessNYC (the city’s benefit application system). They believe, as we do, that information is power and that all New Yorkers deserve the opportunity to access the benefits they’ve earned.