Boy Scouts collecting nonperishables

By Rebecca Keister
PBN Staff Writer

EAST PROVIDENCE – The area’s Boy Scout community will be collecting nonperishable food items for local families on Sat. Nov. 3, by 9 a.m.

The Boy Scouts previously delivered to area residents empty bags and are asking that those bags be left on doorsteps for collection.

The annual Boy Scouts’ Scouting for Food campaign is, according to the Narragansett Council’s Scout Executive and CEO John Mosby the most significant annual community service event for the Narragansett Council Boy Scouts of America.

“For more than 25 years, the annual [drive] has not only helped our neighbors in need, but it has shown our scouts how the community can and will step forward to help others less fortunate than themselves,” Mosby said in a statement.

Last year the drive collected close to 300,000 pounds of food which helped the Rhode Island Community Food Bank to stock pantries throughout the state. Some donated food went to pantries in Southeastern Massachusetts and Connecticut. The Narragansett Council has run the drive since 1998 and has collected more than 7.8 million pounds of food for those in need.

Donors are encouraged to fill their bags with canned soup, tuna, meats, peanut butter and nuts, canned fruits and vegetables, breakfast cereals, whole wheat pasta, rice, crackers, granola bars, and canned or dried beans.

Residents who did receive a bag from the Scouts can drop off donations at Walgreens stores between Nov. 3 and Nov. 17.