5-year-old collects 2,200 cans of food for hungry

Miles Umscheid surpassed his goal of collecting 1,000 cans of food for the hungry, amassing more than 2,200 cans and delivering them to the Tarrant Area Food Bank on Tuesday.

“That will translate to roughly 1,750 meals,” said Francie Cooper, the food bank’s director of community events. “And that’s going to make a difference in people’s lives, especially children.”

One in four kids in the food bank’s 13-county region experiences hunger, the organization says.

Miles is 5 and got the idea to collect food for people who didn’t have any from young Will Lourcey, a recent guest speaker at his class at the Montessori School of Fort Worth.

On Tuesday, Miles and his mother, Matty, a teacher at the school, escorted the food donations to the Tarrant Area Food Bank and were given a tour of the distribution center by executive director Bo Soderbergh, according to the food bank.

“We were completely overwhelmed by the response we’ve received,” Matty said Tuesday, adding that she and Miles will be taking donations for the rest of the summer.

What’s next?

“Miles has mentioned wanting to do something with water. Maybe collecting clean drinking water?” she said in a Facebook message. “He also said he wanted to draw or paint pictures for people who are sick in hospitals. But he’s 5. I’m sure that will change by next week.”

Whatever he decides, he’s already got a record of success to build on.

Miles was featured in the Star-Telegram and on NBC 5 News last week.

This story was originally published August 3, 2016 at 9:34 AM with the headline "5-year-old collects 2,200 cans of food for hungry."