Teen Starts Business to Raise Funds for Local Food Bank

In 2020, at age 14, William Cabaniss noticed that some of his classmates were skipping meals due to food insecurity, and he wanted to do something. To help his classmates and his community, he started making bottles of homemade vanilla extract and donated 100% of his profits to his local food bank.

“No one should be hungry,” William said. “No one should have to worry about where their next meal is coming from.

William had been enjoying baking as a hobby. One day, while baking a pan of brownies and adding vanilla, he realized he could easily produce his own vanilla extract rather than purchasing it at the supermarket. Then he took the idea a step further by planning to sell the extract and donate all profits to the local food bank where he volunteered.

He immediately went to work executing his new plan. He used his own recipe to produce as many bottles of vanilla extract as possible during his free time. He then created a logo and designed a website to start the business.

“Any difference you can make in your community is still a difference. If it's small or big, that could be changing someone's life,” said William.

In 2020, William invited volunteers to join him on his mission to fight hunger in his community. The overwhelmingly positive response allowed him to expand his program into a non-profit organization, Vanilla Feeds Tomorrow. The non-profit venture continues operations today, and William generously donates 100 percent of the profit to Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee. Each $30 bottle sold provides approximately 42 meals to people in need, and the organization has raised more than $200,000 to date.

“There was no one better. They support so many counties across East Tennessee and, within those counties, there's so many distribution areas or food pantries and charities,” William said of Second Harvest. “Their range is just truly awe-inspiring. I wanted every penny to go as far as it could.”

The Foundation for a Better Life and PassItOn believe that William Cabaniss is a hero. His act is a great example of the value of generousity. Please help us celebrate him by sharing his inspiring story.

If you would like to learn more about William’s important cause, please click on the link below:

https://www.vanillafeedstomorrow.com/

Pease tell us about your everyday hero. The heroes among us are ordinary people whose actions leave a lasting and positive impact in their communities and demonstrate the potential in all of us. Their heroic acts uphold our shared values. Help honor these individuals by creating a billboard and sharing their story at: www.passiton.com/your-billboards/create

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