SCOUTS PREPARE FOR ANNUAL FOOD DRIVE IN NOVEMBER
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More than 30,000 Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Venturers will help the needy on Saturday, Nov. 22, as they retrieve bags of food from doorsteps.
After distributing nearly one million bags to homes on Nov. 15, Scouts return to those same areas to collect canned goods and other non-perishables.
Scouts in the St. Louis area will take the donations to area fire stations where Scout leaders sort and box the food. Sunset Transportation Inc. of Sunset Hills will provide vehicles, equipment, volunteer drivers and solicit the assistance of additional volunteers from trucking companies. Sunset Transportation coordinates all logistics for the food collection, which involves transporting boxed food from more than 40 area fire stations to the St. Louis Area Food Bank. The Food Bank distributes the canned goods to more than 480 area food pantries throughout eastern Missouri and southwest Illinois. |
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During the 2007 Scouting for Food drive, Scouts collected 2.07 million cans of food -- 5.6 percent more than the previous year's drive. The Greater St. Louis Area Council-Boy Scouts of America collected more 35 million cans of food during the 23-year history of the drive.
BACKGROUND
Scouting for Food is the BSA's largest one-day food drive, raising 15 percent of area food pantries' yearly supply and feeding the hungry in the community for three months.
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The campaign is launched on "Bag Distribution Day" when Boy Scouts distribute plastic bags to residences in St. Louis, Cape Girardeau and southern Illinois. The Scouts return to residences on the following week, "Bag Collection Day," to retrieve the bags filled with donated non-perishable items. |
In the city of St. Louis and St. Louis County, the items are boxed and sent to the St. Louis Area Food Bank for distribution to more than 480 food pantries in the St. Louis area. Outside of the city and county, the donated items are distributed directly to pantries.
Within 48 hours of the Scouts' pick-up, the donations will be on pantry shelves ready to feed the needy.
You and Your Family Can Help Fight Hunger at Home
More than ever, our community needs help. Approximately 43,580 people receive assistance each week from the St. Louis Area Food Bank. The poverty rate in the Midwest continues to increase. By participating in Scouting for Food, you and your family can fight hunger at home. Click on the links below to learn more about hunger and poverty.
Hunger at a Glance
Poverty at a Glance
Donations Are Necessary, Nutritious Donations Are Needed
Make contributions for other families based on what you would choose for your own.
Healthy, nutritious meals are not only important for everyone, but are especially important for the proper development of children. Children under age 18 comprise 36.6 percent of those served by the St. Louis Area Food Bank. To help you determine the most nutritious food to purchase for Scouting for Food, we've created the Perfect Bag.
Drive Safe and Slow, Scouts Are on the Go
With thousands of Scouting for Food participants canvassing neighborhoods, both Scouts and drivers alike are reminded to exercise caution. Motorists should be careful when backing out of driveways and reduce speeds by 5 to 10 miles per hour while traveling in subdivisions.