Boy Scouts Ask Community to Help Their Neighbors by Giving Generously to 28th Annual Scouting for Food Drive

NARRAGANSETT, RI – Local Boy Scouts are encouraging the community to give to the Scouting for Food Drive to help stock local food pantries for the upcoming holiday season. Last weekend, thousands of Boy Scouts went door-to-door, delivering door hangers asking local residents to donate nutritious canned goods for their annual food drive. This week, community members are asked to fill bags with non-perishable goods and leave them on their doorstep for Saturday morning, November 7 when Scouts will return to collect the food items beginning at 9 am.

For 28 years, the Boy Scouts’ Scouting for Food campaign has inspired the community to help those in need.

“The Scouting for Food Drive is our Council’s most significant annual community service event,” said John Mosby, the Narragansett Council’s Scout Executive/CEO.  “It reinforces important lessons and values taught in Scouting and gives young men a first-hand experience of serving their community and helping their neighbors.”

Last year, the drive collected more than 140,000 pounds of food, which helped the Rhode Island Community Food Bank to stock pantries around the state, as well as some food pantries in Southeastern Massachusetts and Connecticut. Since the drive’s inception in 1988, the Narragansett Council has collected over 8 million pounds of food.

“This food drive wouldn’t be possible without the Scouts, parents and leaders who put their heart and soul into this effort,” said Andrew Schiff, Chief Executive Officer of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. “We know the community will step up and do their part by leaving out healthy food for the Boy Scouts to collect. This food drive will help the 60,000 Rhode Islanders served by the Food Bank and its member agencies each month.”
Scouts from over 200 different Packs and Troops delivered door hangers on Saturday, Oct. 31^st to neighborhoods throughout Rhode Island. This Saturday, Nov. 7, Scouts will return to collect donations, starting at 9 a.m. Scouts encourage donors to fill bags with the Food Bank’s most needed items:

·         Canned Soup, Tuna, Canned Meats, Peanut Butter, Nuts

·         Canned Fruits & Vegetables, Dried Fruit, Tomato Sauce

·         Nutritious Breakfast Cereals, Whole Wheat Pasta, Rice

·         Granola Bars and other healthy snacks

·         Canned or Dried Beans

“This Drive is long-standing tradition for our Council,” added Mosby. “Not only has it helped our neighbors in need, but it has also shown our Scouts how their community will come together to help others less fortunate than themselves.  It’s a great experience for everyone involved.”

Scouting for Food, the largest food drive in New England, is a cooperative effort supported by the Narragansett Council of the Boy Scouts of America, the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, WPRI Channel 12, FOX Providence, the Rhode Island Army National Guard, The Valley Breeze and local fire stations.

If the Scouts are unable to cover your neighborhood, please visit one of our Scout Shops listed below to drop off donations the week following the drive:

West Bay Scout Shop

1276 Bald Hill Road, Unit 160

Warwick, RI 02886

East Bay Scout Shop

79 Swansea Mall Drive

Swansea, MA 02777

OR bring your donation to the RI Community Food Bank any week day between 8 am and 5 pm.

About the Narragansett Council: The Narragansett Council, Boy Scouts of America’s mission is to serve others by helping to instill values in young people and, in other ways, prepare them to make ethical choices over their lifetime in achieving their full potential. The Narragansett Council offers a program for boys and young men ages 6 to 21 and young women ages 14 to 21, serving nearly 14,000 young people in Rhode Island, Southeastern Massachusetts, and Pawcatuck, Connecticut. For more information, please log on to www.narragansettbsa.org

About the Rhode Island Community Food Bank: Founded in 1982, the Rhode Island Community Food Bank is a non-profit organization based in Providence, RI focused on providing food to people in need and promoting long-term solutions to the problem of hunger. The Food Bank raises funds to purchase nutritious foods and solicits, stores and distributes food products donated by supermarkets, wholesalers, food processors, local farmers and community food drives. The food is then distributed to the Food Bank’s statewide network of 169 member agencies. For more information about the Food Bank, visit www.rifoodbank.org.

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