A news story more than a year ago sparked a thought in the mind of a local 12-year-old boy.

What if he asked for canned food for his birthday instead of presents? He could then donate that food to a local food pantry to help others.

For the second year, that is exactly what Deavyn Edwards has done.

Last year, Deavyn held his 13th birthday at Starlite Skate Center, asking his friends and family to bring non-perishable food items to the party instead of birthday presents. He was able to collect 170 pounds of food, which he donated to Foothills Food Pantry in Dobson.

This past weekend, he held his 14th birthday party at Mount Airy Bowling Lanes. He once again asked his friends and family to bring canned foods to the party instead of gifts. He also passed out flyers in his neighborhood and his grandmother’s neighborhood asking people to donate cans to his cause and listing a pick-up date. His dad and his aunt took containers to work to ask for donations of cans as well.

When the time for his birthday came around, Deavyn had set a goal of collecting 350 pounds of food, double his total from the previous year. When Deavyn arrived at Foothills Food Pantry on Monday to drop off his donation, the goods weighed in at 743 pounds and $57 in cash, which bought an additional 15 pounds of food, more than double his goal.

“I was very excited,” he said of seeing the total.

“What an awesome kid he is,” said Beverly Jones, coordinator for Foothills Food Pantry, who accepted the donation. “What he brought to us was an unbelievable amount of food.”

Deavyn is already making this event a family affair with the help of his dad and aunt in putting out collection containers. The eighth grader at Pilot Mountain Middle School has also received help from his younger brother and sister in making the effort a success.

“My sister helped me collect the cans on Friday and my brother helped me pass out the flyers,” he said.

While many would rather take the presents and run, Deavyn is looking at all of the good he has been able to do and plans to once again have a canned food drive for his birthday next year.

“I do it because of all the people it can help, especially right now with the economy the way it is,” he said. “The lady at the food pantry, Beverly, told me that four out of 10 people I go to school with don’t have the luxury of having food on the table.”

“This child did not think about himself. He thought about what others need,” said Jones. “Forty percent of the individuals we serve are under the age of 18. They cannot change their living conditions or financial status. Twenty percent are senior adults who live on a truly fixed income.”

He hopes to reach 1,000 pounds of food next year. In order to hit that goal, he wants to get the word out to more neighborhoods in addition to having his party.

The decision to donate to Foothills last year stemmed from the fact that his mom worked in Dobson and would pass the pantry regularly. He decided to keep the tradition going this year by donating to them again.

Contact Morgan Wall at mwall@mtairynews.com or 719-1929.