Boy Scout's Scouting for Food drive will begin on Saturday

SIKESTON -- Boy Scouts will tie blue plastic bags on doorhandles Saturday, commencing their 32nd annual Scouting for Food drive.

Thousands of Scouts will be canvassing area neighborhoods this weekend as they deliver more than one million Scouting For Food bags to local residents. Scouts will return one week later on Nov. 19 to collect the bags full of donated goods.

Scouting for Food is the largest one-day food drive in the Boy Scouts of America. Scouts throughout southeast Missouri, St. Louis and southern Illinois collect approximately 2 million donated food items during Scouting For Food.

Last year, Scouts in southeast Missouri collected 48,343 and sent them to the 21 food banks in the area -- more than 5,000 goods compared to 2014. Any shelf stable items are acceptable, including boxed or canned goods.

The food is delivered to Southeast Missouri Food Bank and a network of about 500 other food banks throughout the region. Scouting for Food provides more than 500,000 meals annually for families in need.

"Scouting For Food is our third largest food drive for our food bank," said Karen Green, SEMO Food Bank chief executive officer. "We count on the Scouts each year to help us get through the winter months. The Boy Scouts of America have been a real friend to food banks for a long, long time as this is a nationwide food collection."

Scouting For Food comes at an important time of year. As temperatures drop, many families are forced with the decision to either eat or keep their home heated. Heating is the largest energy expense in the average US home, accounting for about 45 percent of energy bills, according to US Department of Energy.

As for the SEMO Food Bank's clients, "choosing between heating the home and eating is a common concern," said Jennifer Wood, SEMO Food Bank chief development officer.

About 75 percent of food bank clients choose between paying for food and paying for utilities, according to Hunger in America statistics. The most common coping strategies for SEMO Food Bank clients are purchasing inexpensive, unhealthy food (86 percent) and receiving help from families or friends (62 percent).

"Participating in the Scouting For Food program is a proud tradition for our community," said Ronald Green, Scout executive/CEO of the Greater St. Louis Area Council. "We appreciate the community's generosity year after year. The food drive is important not only because it helps those in need, but it also teaches our children the value of serving others."

Scouts can also receive a Scouting for Food patch and earn service hours which are needed for several rank advancements.

"Last year, it was cold and rainy on pick up day, and dozens of boys and young men from ages 6 to 18 were cheerfully running from house to house all morning to fill up trunks and pickup truck beds with donations to take to the food bank," said Jonathan Douglass, Troop 141 assistant Scoutmaster.

This year's campaign is sponsored by MERS Missouri Goodwill.

"We are honored to sponsor the Scouting for Food initiative and support the thousands of Scouts from the Greater St. Louis Area Council in their push for food donations," said David Kutchback, president and CEO of MERS Goodwill. "The annual food drive shows the impact of bringing communities together for a cause and reflects MERS Goodwill's commitment to supporting individuals in their path to employment and independent living."