The canned food drive spearheaded by 14-year-old Hayden Dinger, dubbed “Love and Fishes,” has surpassed the young man’s aspirations.

The idea to help provide food for the hungry in Glendale gained momentum in ways the La Crescenta resident could never have imagined. This year, with the help of his school (St. Bede in La Cañada), his Boy Scout troop, friends and family plus local businesses including Prudential La Cañada, Andy’s Transfer and Wunderbar, Hayden exceeded his goal.

Hayden learned while helping out at the Salvation Army that a can of tuna provides enough protein for a small family meal. For each of the past three years, he set out during the Christian season of Lent to collect 1,000 cans of tuna. This year, he collected almost 1,500 cans. Through the power of social media, three brothers in the Seattle area decided to start Love and Fishes in their community and collected hundreds of cans of tuna for their local food bank.

“It is awesome that Love and Fishes is now in Washington state,” said Hayden. “I am going to set my goal next year at 2,000 cans.”