With many food banks facing an increased demand in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a 9-year-old Mountlake Terrace boy was inspired to take action – collecting food, toiletries and cash for the Concern for Neighbors Food Bank.

Atticus Patella-Buckley, 9, decided to help out by organizing a neighborhood food drive. A couple of weeks later he had collected 475 pounds of food and toiletries, along with $295 in cash that he and his family dropped off to the organization on June 8.

Atticus said he was inspired by a similar effort organized by one of his mother’s students. Mikayla Patella-Buckley, who teaches chemistry and forensics at an independent high school in north Seattle, had learned about her pupil’s charitable work during a video conference assembly this spring.

“I have heard lots of stories about people that don’t have food, they are hungry while we eat food and so I wanted to help them,” Atticus said.

Mikayla Patella-Buckley was all for the idea. She said the family lives by Concern for Neighbors Food Bank and sees the cars lined up there. It’s a visual reminder, she said, “that these are our neighbors and the people in our community that could use a little helping hand.”

Using the other student’s flyer as a template, Atticus sat down with his mom so they could institute the necessary changes to make it their own. After printing their finished product on bright pink paper, which included the assurance that it was delivered by someone wearing a mask and gloves, they distributed 146 flyers to houses around their neighborhood.

“We put one under every doormat and if there wasn’t a doormat then we just found a rock to weigh it down,” Atticus said. Residents then had five days before he returned to collect their donations that Sunday.

Picking up the contributions was a team effort for the family of four — which includes Atticus’ father Sean and 5-year-old sister Roxie — and they had fun. “We kind of divided and conquered, each car had a grown-up and a kid and it took us about an hour,” Mikayla Patella-Buckley said. “We just drove around, it was like a treasure hunt, looking for something (bags) on the front porch that we could come up and grab.”

After nearly filling both cars with the donations, Atticus said the most difficult part was calculating their combined weight, which involved a lot of math and a big column of numbers. The family had empty produce boxes, which he weighed first, and then weighed each one again after filling them with the collected food and toiletries. He finished by subtracting the empty weight from each stocked box and then added all of the individual totals together.

The family was pleasantly surprised by how much they were able to collect and did a little happy dance in their garage afterward. Atticus said that he had guessed beforehand at least 100 pounds but didn’t expect gathering more than four times that amount. “We couldn’t believe it, just how generous people were, because it’s hard for everybody right now,” Mikayla Patella-Buckley said.

Besides canned food, people also donated toilet paper and hygiene products, which are in particularly high demand at local food banks.

“I was really proud to watch Atticus spearhead this, he’s always been a kid who’s never been afraid or shy about talking with adults and I think that really helped him out in this case,” Mikayla Patella-Buckley said. “When he first said that he wanted to do this I wasn’t sure how big this was going to be, I assumed we’d get a couple bags and drop it off, but this ended up being so much bigger than I thought.”

Concern for Neighbors Food Bank Director Mike Begeman said that food bank volunteers put together their non-perishable bags on Fridays, so the donations Atticus brought in Monday will go out next Tuesday, on their regular distribution day. He said the money contributed will help to purchase necessary toiletries, laundry soap and staple grocery items including dairy, produce, rice, cereal and peanut butter.

The food bank has been serving on average about 125 families each week —  an increase of 25 percent from before the current COVID-19 crisis — and the donation meant a lot to the organization, he said.

“I think it’s wonderful that in general our community has really stepped up and reached out to us,” said Begeman. “So initiative is great, people just kind of canvassing the neighborhood with their flyers and collecting food is exactly what we need.”

Atticus said that after his family dropped off the items, the staff working at the food bank came outside and gave him a round of applause, which he enjoyed. “I’d say that if you donate it really pays off,” he said. “It pays off with the gratitude from neighbors, the food banks, also just the feeling of ‘I think I just provided somebody’s meal today.’”

— By Nathan Blackwell