David Feeds the Hungry

David Levitt was 11 years old when the idea hit him. And it was a good one. He had been reading about a Kentucky man who started a network of volunteers to transport donated food to hungry people. David wanted to do something similar with his school.

A Volunteer is Born - Helping Local Food Banks

David was new to his school but he didn't hesitate to run the idea past his principal. He was told there were probably government regulations that would stop a program like that from going anywhere. Even David's new friends told him it probably couldn't be done. That didn't matter to David.

Putting the Plan in Motion - Helping Local Food Banks

During the next few weeks, David researched Florida's laws about food donations and collected facts and figures. He wrote a proposal and, instead of going back to the principal, went over his head to the superintendent and the school board. Since nobody had ever taken the time to do that, the board was impressed with David. On his 12th birthday he nervously stood before the school board and was told they had approved his plan. But victory was short.

Following Through with Plans - Helping Local Food Banks

Five months went by. Nothing had happened yet. People were still hungry and David was getting impatient. It turned out airtight containers were needed to ship the food but there was no money for that. David set out to get containers. He wrote letters to every company that made containers. The response was slow but successful. First Brands, the company that makes Gladlock plastic bags, agreed to send him an ongoing supply of storage bags. It had taken a year, but finally, David's plan was underway. During the start of the program, only 10 schools donated left over food. Today, over 100 schools in Pinellas County donate about 234,000 pounds of food every two years.

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