An 11-year-old Bowmanville boy held nine mini-food drives and donated thousands of pounds of food to the local food bank.

“I heard the food banks were low so I thought I would help them get food,” said Reilly Howard. “We went and did food drives door-to-door.”

He delivered flyers door-to-door telling neighbours when he’d be back to gather food donations. He visited approximately 200 homes in nine different Bowmanville neighbourhoods from mid-August to mid-September.

“This boy managed to collect 2.5 tonnes, or 5,000 pounds of food,” Christine Boyd, food bank co-ordinator at St. Vincent de Paul Food Bank in Bowmanville, said via email.

Boyd called the donation a “huge accomplishment” and presented Reilly with a certificate to thank him at a school assembly Sept. 27.

Reilly, a member of the 3rd Bowmanville Scout troop, launched his food drive as part of his efforts to earn a Chief Scout Award. To achieve the award, a Scout has to earn outdoor adventure skills, complete 30 hours of community service, lead a group outing and complete a “Capstone project” that has a service aspect to the community — which is where the food drive came in.

“I was really surprised, I didn’t think we’d ever get to 5,000 pounds,” said Reilly, who’s initial goal was to raise 4,000 pounds. “It’s a lot of food and in Scouts they’ve been challenging you to do your best and then do better.”

Reilly got help canvassing neighbourhoods and collecting the food — and more than $200 in cash donations — from his friends and older brother, Trystan Howard, 15. It took 18 nights of work for the nine neighbourhood food drives.

The 3rd Bowmanville Scouts will be holding more food drives through the month of November. Visit the “3rd Bowmanville Scouting” Facebook page for more information on the upcoming scouting initiatives.

“(Scouts) really sees the youth strive for the highest goal they set for themselves. It trains these kids to take on leadership roles in the community and provides a lot of adventures along the way,” said Sean Howard, Reilly’s father.