ENTER THIS // Design a Plate and Help Fight Hunger in NYC

Heyyyy, designer extraordinaires out there: Want to gain recognition and win cash while also supporting a really good cause? Brooklyn-based online retailer UncommonGoods and New York's City Harvest are hosting a design contest that gives you a chance to do just that.

UncommonGoods--which specalizes in handmade and eco-friendly products--is soliciting designers for a new "Plate with Purpose" that will benefit City Harvest, a food rescue program that collects excess food from all segments of the food industry to held feed the city's hungry. This year alone, the program will collect 28 million pounds of food and deliver it to almost 600 community food programs across the city.

Designers can submit their entries for the "Harvest Plate" through June 16, and the community will be able to vote for the best designs through UncommonGood's new product voting app. City Harvest and UncommonGoods will then select a winner out of the five most popular designs at the end of June.

The winning designer gets a $1,000 award, recognition on UncommonGoods' website, and consideration for its holiday catalog. City Harvest will receive $5 for ever plate that is sold.

UncommonGoods has been an active supporter of community involvement and sustainability since the company was founded in 1999, donating more than $300,000 through their Better to Give program. Other Plates with Purpose have raised money for Alzheimer’s research, child abuse, local community organizations, AIDS organizations and other worthy causes.

"Last year we asked our customers to help us pick a new nonprofit to support, and City Harvest was a popular choice," says UncommonGoods' Julia Marden. "We really respected their work as a food rescue organization and the commitment they have to serving New York City."

Download the contest rules and template on Uncommongoods' contest page and start designing your Harvest Plate!

Hit the jump now to watch a video about City Harvest.