2024 Food Heroes

Wellington, Florida

Since her first birthday, Bella, age 12, has been supporting local nonprofits through birthday “parties with a purpose.” As she got older, she embraced this tradition and expanded it to include her siblings, more organizations and other holidays. Last year, she coordinated the first student-run community service group at her middle school, organizing a series of successful “serve together” opportunities. She led various initiatives including a school-based food drive, sorting non-perishable items at Palm Beach County Food Bank, gleaning fresh produce at a local farm with CROS Ministries, and a food distribution day with Restoration Bridge International. These events not only provided essential food to local residents but also inspired students to discuss food security and community engagement issues. Encouraged by the impact her efforts have made, Bella is founding “B3 Powerful,” a nonprofit that will connect youth and families of all ages, stages, and abilities with opportunities to harness their unique powers to serve, continuing her mission to address food insecurity and other community issues.

Palo Alto, California
Homeless Heroes

Inspired by witnessing nutritious meals being discarded at his school, Colin, age 16, founded Homeless Heroes, a youth-led nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing social and environmental justice by raising awareness about homelessness, increasing food sustainability, and fostering an interconnected community. He overcame legal and logistical challenges to start delivering meals to local shelters, and is committed to environmental stewardship, partnering with sustainable cafeterias and shelters in underrepresented communities, and significantly reducing carbon dioxide emissions each year. To date (2024), the team at Homeless Heroes donated over 7,000 meals monthly to shelters and schools nationwide, delivered over 135,000 meals and reached more than 3,500 unhoused individuals. Colin works to empower youth to engage in service work, inspiring the next generation to make a positive impact through meal packaging, food delivery and direct interaction with people who are unhoused.

Broomfield, Colorado

Elaina, age 10, embodies compassion and generosity through dedicated efforts to combat hunger. The youngest winner in this year’s Food Heroes class at 10 years old, Elaina teamed up with her grandmother to source and distribute food to those in need, starting with the unhoused in her hometown of Denver. Recently, as the city began receiving 50 new refugees daily, Elaina focused on supporting these newcomers. She navigates the challenges of varying shelter conditions and ensures that each delivery meets specific needs. Her dedication led her to organize a successful school fundraiser to support refugees, extending its impact and continuing beyond the initial expectations. When her grandmother rewards her good schoolwork with money, Elaina spends it on essentials for newly arrived refugees, especially for youth.

Sherrill, New York
School Lunch Pals

At age 18, Emma—a 2023 Rising Star—founded School Lunch Pals in 2023 after personally experiencing the challenges of student lunch debt. Her organization supports families struggling to pay for school lunches, ensuring that no parent or student is made to shoulder this burden alone. Initially, it helped families not qualifying for Free and Reduced Lunch by paying off their lunch debts at her school. With the district now qualifying for Universal Student Breakfast and Lunch (CEP), School Lunch Pals provides funds for students who previously qualified for Free or Reduced Lunch to buy additional items not covered by CEP. In its first year, the initiative has raised over $7,000 and paid off 3,100 lunches. Emma collaborated with local organizations to build support and was honored with a Certificate of Merit from the New York State Assembly for her impactful work.

Dixon, Iowa

Lauren, age 18, was inspired to bring healthy food to families in need in her community. Volunteering at a food shelter during the pandemic at age 14, she noticed the lack of fresh vegetables in the donated groceries. A farm girl at heart, Lauren decided to address this gap. She received a grant from the National FFA Organization — a youth organization that promotes agriculture education — which enabled her to pay for startup seeds, plants and supplies. Despite having no experience in large-scale vegetable cultivation, she started in the spring of 2022 by planting a half-acre of her family’s 150-acre farm to grow 15 varieties of vegetables. Over the past two years, she has expanded her produce offerings and has donated over 7,000 pounds of homegrown produce, valued at over $15,000 to more than 10 nonprofits in her community. She aims to grow and donate an additional 13,000 pounds of produce, bringing her total to 20,000 pounds by the time she goes to college in the fall of 2025.

Abingdon, Maryland
We Cancerve

Thirteen-year-old Natalie is a volunteer at We Cancerve. In 2023, she was appointed to the organization’s all-youth board of advisors. She follows in the footsteps of Grace Callwood, the founder of We Cancerve and a 2020 Food Hero. We Cancerve is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing happiness to children facing homelessness, illness and food insecurity, including those in foster care and group homes. Natalie is a true fighter. After overcoming food anxiety due to a birth defect and attending a six-week inpatient feeding clinic, she’s passionate about helping children who are critically ill. Over the past year, Natalie has prepared and delivered supplemental food kits for 100 youth in the local school system. She created a recipe and filmed a cooking tutorial for a nutritious, affordable meal kit for the children’s TV show, “On the Move with We Cancerve,” and delivered these kits to a local homeless shelter. She led a craft project for pediatric oncology patients with the Cool Kids Campaign, delivered toys to pediatric patients, and organized a shopping spree for unhoused children. Earlier this year, Natalie ran an event providing 100 breakfast bags to local children.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feeding Philly

Samantha, an eighteen-year-old recent high school graduate from Central High School, founded Feeding Philly as a sophomore. Led by students, this nationally recognized nonprofit organization serves 2,000 families in North Philadelphia, engages over 4,500 regional student volunteers, and repurposes more than 2,500 pounds of food. Under her leadership, Feeding Philly has significantly expanded, leveraging mutual aid programs and educational workshops to combat food waste and food insecurity within Philadelphia’s schools and communities. Motivated by her personal struggles with an eating disorder and the effects of malnutrition, Samantha is committed to ensuring better nutritional access for all. Feeding Philly collaborates with more than 15 local educational and humanitarian organizations and is working to expand its network through a dedicated curriculum.

New York City, New York
Food for All NYC

Skai, an eighteen-year-old 2023 Rising Star, has expanded his impact over the past two years working alongside his younger brother, Will (age 16). They started the Food Security Club at Stuyvesant High School in New York City after seeing the impact of COVID-19 collecting 3,000 pounds of excess cafeteria meals to combat food insecurity and waste. Their efforts grew into Food for All NYC, a nonprofit organization to redistribute fresh foods from schools, grocery stores and delis to those in need across New York City. They work with food pantries, community meal centers and community fridges to create a healthier, more collaborative and less wasteful city. To date, Food for All NYC has donated over 12,000 food items, rescuing more than 10,000 pounds of food. Now at Cornell University, Skai is expanding these efforts and advocating with the Department of Education to eliminate food waste. Will, still in high school, won the 2023 Congressional App Challenge in New York’s 12th District with their app, Food for All NYC, which connects organizations to streamline food rescue operations.