Leo Bonilla feels lucky that his family’s kitchen is always filled with food. That’s why he has made it his mission to help people who are less fortunate.
About 47 million Americans are food insecure. That means they don’t always have access to enough affordable, healthy food.
Leo first learned about this problem in 2020, during the Covid pandemic. He saw a TV news report that showed families waiting in long lines for food.
“I didn’t realize that many people didn’t have food,” the 11-year-old recalls. “It’s not fair, so I just wanted to help them.”
Leo asked his parents if he could donate all of his money to help struggling families. He had $22. His parents agreed and they matched his donation. Leo and his parents then asked family and friends to contribute too. Soon they had raised about $1,500. They decided to give the money to the D300 Food Pantry. That’s an organization that provides meals to families in need in and around Leo’s hometown of Algonquin, Illinois.