Palo Alto Girl, 10, Leads 'Italian Dinner Kit' Food Drive: Report

PALO ALTO, CA — Tessa Berney has the routine down pat.

The Palo Alto 10-year-old is spending her free quarantine time preparing packages of Italian comfort food along with some love for local families in need.

“A pasta goes inside the bag and a sauce goes inside the bag,” she tells NBC News, “and then we also get a positive note inside. This one says ‘Ciao! Enjoy your meal. Buon Appetito!’”

Berney told NBC News she got the idea to help others when her mother told her about a local family in need.

Berney started soliciting donations for the dinner kits on her mother’s NextDoor account about a month ago. The sixth grader has since brought 145 such packages to Peninsula Family Service, Palo Alto Weekly reports.

"I thought I wanted to help these people but I can't just write a check and like cash it at the bank,"she told NBC News.

Read more at NBC News

Patch News Partner/Shutterstock

Patch has partnered with Feeding America to help raise awareness on behalf of the millions of Americans facing hunger. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks across the country, estimates that in 2020, more than 54 million Americans will not have enough nutritious food to eat due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.