Semillero de Ideas, a Washington nonprofit helping farmworkers commercialize their own inventions, is gearing up for its second innovation contest and has significantly boosted its prize money.

The competition, called “Tus Ideas Cuentan (Your Ideas Matter), Concurso Manzana (Apple Challenge) 2024,” invites farm laborers to submit ideas for how to improve the apple harvest for themselves, their employers and the environment.

This year, the contest offers a total of $15,000 in prize money, paid for by a sponsorship from Once Upon a Farm, a childhood nutrition company co-founded by actor Jennifer Garner.

“To have a national brand like Once Upon a Farm put $15,000 on the table to support our challenge sends a strong message to farmworkers that their ideas do indeed matter,” Erik Nicholson, interim executive director of Semillero de Ideas, said in a statement.

The prize for first place is now $6,000; second place $4,000; third place $2,000; and three $1,000 prizes will be awarded for entries that help protect the environment.

The entry deadline has been extended to Nov. 30.

For more information about the challenge, visit the organization’s Facebook page at: facebook.com/SemilleroDeIdeas.CentroDeInnovacionDeCampesinos.

—by Ross Courtney