Mansfield boy donates weeks of food to local pantry

MANSFIELD — Belmond Schwartz’s efforts to help fill the Mansfield’s Our Daily Bread Food Pantry recently made national news.

The Mansfield boy collected weeks’ worth of items in lieu of presents for his ninth birthday. His donation was featured Nov. 24 on ABC News.

Belmond started recruiting neighbors and friends in September to collect food for the pantry. He eventually called upon stores like Wal-Mart, Stop & Shop, Big Y and Target to donate to his cause.

"There are a lot of people who don't have food and I just wanted to help them in any way I can," Belmond said.

On Nov. 21, the third-grader worked with family, friends and firefighters to load the weeks' worth of food he collected for the food pantry onto trucks.

"I think this will keep us pretty well stocked through January, mid-February," said Maria Smith, who runs the Mansfield Food Pantry. "It's great for the Mansfield community."

Steven Schwartz, Belmond's father, said his son got the idea to collect food to donate ahead of Thanksgiving after a recent trip to California, where he saw people who were homeless and hungry.

"He saw tents out there and he was just kind of shocked by it," Steven Schwartz said. "And he asked me what it was about. My wife and I, his mom and I, told him what it was about and he was really impacted."

Mansfield Fire Capt. John Terry met Belmond when he came to his fire station to ask for help in getting all the food he collected to the pantry.

"I mean, the Sunday before Thanksgiving, this is going to help out a ton of people," Terry said.

Belmond says he’s received his birthday wish.

"I don't want any presents. I think that if I help people, that it will make me feel good," he said.