PHX Reporter

A charity in Mesa, Arizona, is honoring the legacy of its namesake by making sure children do not go hungry while on breaks from school.

Corbin’s Legacy was created by Joan Leafman to honor her daughter, Corbin, a Title I elementary school teacher who she refers to as a “true humanitarian.” Corbin's mission was to ensure no students were hungry.

"She was known throughout her district as walking through the lunch line every day holding up a $20 bill, to make sure every child in the school got a free hot lunch,” Leafman said to ABC15. 

Fighting children's hunger was Corbin’s legacy, and Leafman has carried it on since her daughter lost her battle with breast cancer and died at age 30. Leafman started the charity to honor Corbin.

Since 2015, Leafman has collected donations to pay for bags of food for thousands of children who are affected by food insecurity, often not getting a meal unless they’re in school. It’s an unyielding task.

"There is not a neighborhood anywhere in this Valley where, within one mile of where you're standing, some child isn't going to bed without dinner," Leafman told ABC15.

Things have gotten even more challenging since the pandemic, which has adversely affected supply chains. As a result, Leafman got creative, passing out gift cards to representatives at 25 schools in the Valley, who then select 50 students to receive them. ABC15 reported that during spring break, Corbin’s Legacy supplied more than 1,200 gift cards for kids.

Corbin’s Legacy helps provide free medical screens to at-risk students, according to the charity's website. It offers a Weekend Food Warriors program, which provides meals on weekends for kids, and supplies canned fruits and vegetables to Title I families through free farmer’s markets.