David Levitt was all of 11 years old when he decided he could do something about feeding the hungry. Like, what about all the food that wasn’t served each day in the school cafeteria? He was told that several adults had tried to get the school to donate but the response had been, “Too much red tape.” Undaunted, he took the question straight to the County school board and got their agreement to donate food from all 92 schools in the county.

When his accomplishment made local papers, some classmates taunted and insulted him. David forged on, enlisting restaurant owners and the hosts of private events to donate unserved food, getting manufacturers to donate the proper containers for transporting food to shelters and soup kitchens, and taking food from a local supermarket to a feeding agency.

At David Levitt’s bar mitzvah, he asked guests to bring food donations in support of his project. Over 500 pounds of food were donated, and he was presented with a Giraffe Project commendation for sticking his neck out to champion the hungry.

Now 14, Levitt hasn’t let up a minute. He and his 16-year-old sister have drafted a resolution that’s been introduced in the State legislature; David’s lobbying for its passage. If he gets the votes, his efforts will be replicated all over Florida.