Leominster 5th Graders Tackle Childhood Hunger

LEOMINSTER (CBS) - Taking on the problem of kids who don't have enough food. Most people would be overwhelmed by that, but with the teamwork of a group of young people in Leominster, it's "can do."

It's a kid assembly line in the basement of Kylee McCumber's home. A table is filled with cans of soup, mac and cheese, juices and other foods. Busy hands grab enough food for one kid for one weekend, bag it, and put it on the growing pile. The Leominster 5th grader and her team are putting together "Kylee's Kare Kits for Kidz." "And we give them to 50 kids throughout Leominster who wouldn't have enough food over the weekend," says Kylee. "Kylee got the idea when she saw some of her classmates receiving free meals at school each day. "I was worried that since we don't have school on certain days that they would lose a lot of nutrition," she says.

Kylee started out alone asking for donations of food and money. But support grew. "Then I had a couple of friends help pack and then we had to turn it into a team," she says. They started out the school year with a goal of providing enough food for 10 kids every weekend and during school vacations. That has grown to 50 kids in four elementary schools.

"During February vacation they got triple the amount. Christmas vacation they got triple, and Thanksgiving break they got double," says Kylee. The kids dedicate a lot of hours to the project. "The thing I get out of this experience is knowing that we're helping somebody else out in our community," says 5th grader Brenda Menjivar. And if you think that some problems are just too big to tackle, remember what a bunch of 11-year-olds are doing.

"I get joy just thinking kids are happy with their food. I think it might show other people that even 5th graders can make a difference in he world," says Olivia Gallo.

It takes a lot of support to fill those care kits. If you'd like to learn more visit: www.kyleeskarekitsforkidz.org

Do you know people who are making a difference in their communities? We'd like to do a story about them. Contact Ken Tucci: krtucci@wbztv.com