One in eight of my neighbors is facing hunger, one in six of those are kids. With rising prices for everything from basic needs to housing costs, many families are cutting back on groceries – or skipping meals completely.

I started volunteering in support of Second Harvest Food Bank 10 years ago by helping with Share Your Christmas. Later, with my parents, we sorted food donations during a Family Days event (a unique volunteer activity for people with kids ages 5 – 9 years old) in person at the food bank. Those events sparked my idea to find more ways to help others.

I decided Halloween was a chance to do just that. Candy's never been my "thing," but I still wanted to dress up and participate with my friends. My solution was to create a “Cans Over Candy” food drive to collect nonperishable food while my friends were trick-or-treating. Flyers were sent out a few days before Halloween, then fingers were crossed.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Daniel recalls. “That first year, I had so many cans that the axle broke on my wagon!”

Now in its 6th year, my Halloween food drive continues to grow. My mom posts the information on social media and Nextdoor and my dad drives our car along the route to lug it all.

Last year I also added a virtual food drive component so neighbors can make financial donations in addition to providing physical food!

Continuing this drive is extra important to me this year, as I was struck by lightning last July in Central Florida. My near miss just emphasizes that EVERY day is special. If you've ever thought about doing something "one day," then I'd like to encourage you to make today The Day.

My goal is for other young people to start their own Cans Over Candy food drive. “There are many ways to help people have food on the table. No idea is too small or too big. Every action makes a difference.”

If you'd like to start your drive, email PSnyman@feedhopenow.org to set up your virtual fundraising component. And follow my @CansOverCandy drive on social media. I'll help in any way I can to help you get YOUR food drive off the ground.