Arcata High Sophomore Wins INNOVATE! Business Challenge for Reusable Sandwich Bags

Arcata, Ca. (KIEM) — A sophomore from Arcata High School is celebrating a big win at the INNOVATE! Business Challenge finale for his reusable sandwich bags.               

Participants were challenged to come up with a business start-up plan. Each finalist had a 15 minute window to pitch his or her idea and answer questions from a panel of judges via Zoom.

Jude Ortega took home the top honor for his business, Jude’s Reusable Sandwich Bags. Ortega says that the average person uses roughly 500 single use snack or sandwich bags a year, and he wanted to do his part to help reduce plastic waste.

The competition wasn’t the first time Ortega has thought about this business idea. In fact, he’s been doing it since he was 10 years old. In addition to winning $2,500 in cash, Ortega also received a $500 media package for his business.