We are here to answer questions anytime. If they are relevant to the competition we may post them on this page along with an answer. Please send email to: info@appsforhealthykids.com.

I understand that the USDA gets a "royalty free" license for 12 months, but does that mean I can't sell my app?

Submissions must be free of charge to the public throughout the Competition and for one year after the announcement of winners. The USDA maintains a royalty-free non-exclusive worldwide license to use, copy for use, perform publicly, display publicly, for the purpose of the Competition until one year after the announcement of winners. This license includes posting or linking to the Submission on the official USDA and Administrator websites and partner websites and making it available for use by the public.

Can I submit an iPhone App? If so, how?

For iPhone apps or apps developed for other platforms that are not easily shared on the web before store approval, you may submit your app using a web framework designed for those platforms (like PhoneGap, etc), or provide a link to a video of all the features of the application. The Competition Administrator may request access to the application in person or via any reasonable manner to verify any criteria about the software application.

We don't use the USDA Nutrition Dataset. Would we qualify to enter?

No. The Official Rules specifically require apps to use at least the USDA Nutrition Dataset available at www.cnpp.usda.gov/Innovations/DataSource.htm. (This is the same as the dataset at www.data.gov/details/1294.) [Note: The required USDA Nutrition Dataset is part of a larger USDA dataset called the Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS). Use of the 3.0 version of this larger dataset is also acceptable as the required dataset. The FNDDS 3.0 dataset can be downloaded here.] You may add other data sets from data.gov or elsewhere.

Can more than one person work on an app and receive credit for it? And if the app wins a prize, will the prize money be split among the creators?

Yes more than one person may work on an app and receive credit for it. The prize will be awarded to the group and it will be up to them to split the prize, as stated in the Official Rules.

Can people enter more than once?

Yes. There is no limit to how many times an eligible person or organization may enter. And, an individual may join more than one team, corporation, or nonprofit organization.

Do the submitted apps have to be ideas for newly created products, or can they be based on existing products?

Applications may be based on existing products provided they comply with all of the requirements outlined in the Official Rules.

We are an organization. Can we enter?

Yes. Corporations or organizations that are domiciled in the United States, incorporated at the time of entry, and employ fewer than fifty (50) people at the time of entry are eligible for the awards with cash prizes. Organizations with fifty or more people at the time of entry may enter their applications and be eligible for the Corporate Recognition Award which has no cash prize component.

How do I know if I qualify as a "student" for the GE Healthymagination Student Awards?

To be eligible to compete for the GE Healthymagination Student Awards, Contestants (including all team members if a team submission) must be either currently enrolled in (at least nine credits, three courses, or equivalent) at the time of entry; or have graduated from in the three months prior to entry (1) an elementary or secondary school, or functional equivalent; or (2) an accredited post secondary institution (e.g., university, community college, technical college). Student status will be verified by a transcript before prize money is given.