Zanesville Student Raises 2,000 Donations for Local Food Pantry

ZANESVILLE, OH – One young local is stepping up once again to make sure his neighbors don’t go hungry.

14-year-old James McCandlish, an 8th grader at Zanesville Middle School, just wrapped up a food drive and it’s making a huge impact. For the past few weeks, James has been rallying classmates and teachers to donate to his food drive. This year, he collected over 2,000 canned food items and $450 in donations all to support Christ’s Table, a local food pantry.

“I think that if we all come together and help at least one person, we can possibly save poverty in the U.S. and possibly worldwide. I think helping people is one thing that our world needs. It’s so easy to donate one can, to open a door to brighten someone’s day, or say something nice. It’s the small things that can really build an impact,” McCandlish said.

James’ passion for helping his community began in 2019, when he asked to hold a food drive instead of receiving birthday presents for his 10th birthday. Since then, he’s made it a tradition.

“It feels great. After doing it for so many years, I kind of forget how much I’m doing. But I really do see what I’m doing. Especially when I go in and serve and see things that I collected. I really love seeing it. I have my goals set for the future and I really like feeling the impact that I can make,” McCandlish said.

James’ big heart is making a difference, one can at a time. He hopes to start his own community food pantry organization by 2035, to continue his mission to fight hunger.