Middle-Schooler Donates Record 30,000 Diapers to Phoenix Food Bank

Recently, Nourish Phoenix, a food bank in Phoenix, received its largest diaper donation ever. A U-Haul filled with diapers for families across the community arrived at the food bank, leaving the employees shocked to learn that not some philanthropic millionaire, but a middle-schooler was behind the enormous load.

While most children her age live life blissfully ignorant of the world's problems, 12-year-old Sloan spends her time collecting diapers. This time, she sent a package of 30,000 to the food bank. This year, her target was 22,500 diapers for donation, but the Huggies, Pampers and Blueys kept pouring in until there was hardly any room to walk around her home.

According to research from the National Diaper Bank Network and Huggies, roughly 1 in 3 US families struggle to afford enough diapers to keep their baby clean, dry and healthy. With diapers not being covered by SNAP or WIC, families end up spending more on them. For many families visiting the food bank, every dollar matters and diapers can quickly become the most expensive product to spend on.

Interestingly, this wasn't Sloan's first donation drive. It was her fifth annual 'Diaper Drive', an event she has been organising since the age of seven, all the while volunteering at the food bank. Nourish Phoenix has been helping families in Phoenix with food, clothing, hygiene products and job assistance since the 1960s.

It was in 2022 that she visited the food bank alongside her mother to help prepare food boxes for the families to pick up. Afterwards, the team gave her a tour of the facility and Sloan noticed a section of shelves at the food bank's location at 510 on 9th Avenue was bare. When she questioned the empty space, she was told that it was where the diapers were, that they were always among the most requested items, and yet had already run out.

On the way home, Sloan said, "Mom, we should get some diapers and bring them back for Nourish Phoenix." After seeing the need firsthand, she launched her first diaper drive through a social media post, collecting about 7,000 diapers.

Five years later, her annual effort has grown into a community-wide movement fueled by donations from family, friends and supporters through Sloan's Diaper Drive. “If we have the ability to give someone something that they might not have or need, it’s really important to do that,” she said in an interview with ABC 15 as her diaper drive concluded at the close of August.

“My little girl: she’s just so special, she has such a big heart, loves helping and giving back,” said Sloan’s proud mother.