Helping the neediest in our community
By: Rose Sutkowski, Publicity Chair, Constellation District
On Saturday, Nov. 17, local Scouting units in Lower Merion, Marple Newtown, Haverford and Radnor townships participated in COLBSA’s Scouting for Food Drive,
a vital campaign to feed the hungry. This year, the units collected more than 8,100 food items providing meals to support needy families within their local communities.
Volunteering during this annual campaign is one way Scouts are living the principle of “doing a good turn daily.” Knowing not everyone is so lucky to have a warm meal every night, this annual tradition allows Scouts to play a critical role in community service. To ensure success for this campaign, Scouts canvassed neighborhoods the preceding weekend leaving door hangers to alert family, friends and neighbors of the food drive.
COLBSA’s Annual Scouting for Food Drive takes place every November to accompany the “season of giving.” The food drive collects non-perishable items to fight hunger locally at a time of the year when needs are high and supplies are low.
“I really like doing the food pick up. It feels good because I’m helping to feed the less fortunate through this collection,” said Chris Donnelly from Cub Pack 11.
Several local organizations play an instrumental role in the Scouting for Food Drive. Those groups include:
- The Delaware County Interfaith Food Assistance Network (DIFAN) — a network of food pantries throughout Delaware County; Family & Community Service (FCS) of Delaware County who coordinates donations to pantries in this network.
- As the main distribution and packing point, St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Broomall, PA chooses the items it needs to stock it’s own shelves. The Church then provides the extra supplies to other locations within the DIFAN.
- Other donations are delivered directly to FCS. DIFAN, FCS and St. Mark’s are working together to provide food security and community connections to those in need.
“Our Scouts performed an incredible service to the community and I’m so proud of them for getting involved,” said District Executive Kevin Connell. “The Scouting oath includes helping others and this is an example of how our Scouts are putting this into action”, Connell said.
To learn more about this important food-collection drive, visit https://colbsa.org/activities-2/food/. You can also find out about pantry needs, fund raising opportunities and current events at https://www.facebook.com/delco.pa.food/