Scouts to Pick Up Food Saturday

Cub Scouts from West Barrington’s Pack 2 will return to the Primrose and St. Luke’s neighborhoods Saturday morning, Nov. 3, before 9 am to collect non-perishable foods for the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. 

The annual Scouting for Food Drive marks its 25th anniversary this year. It has become a long-standing tradition for the Narragansett Council Boy Scouts of America and the largest food drive in New England. 

Pack 2 collected approximately 1,000 pounds of non-perishable food last year.   Since 1988, the Narragansett Council has collected more than 7.8 million pounds of food through the drive for those who are in need.

The Rhode Island Community Food Bank currently serves more than 65,000 people through its statewide network of emergency food programs, including TAP-IN in Barrington, which serves the East Bay.

Foods that are always in most need are:

• Protein: canned soup, tuna, canned meats, peanut butter and nuts;
• Canned fruits and vegetables, including juices and tomato sauce;
• Carbohydrates such as nutritious breakfast cereals, whole wheat pasta, crackers, granola bars and cheese & cracker packages;
• Canned and dried beans.

Cub Scouts dropped of the bags at homes last weekend.  What, you didn’t get a bag?

You can contribute to the Scouting for Food Drive from 9 to 11 am on Saturday at the Barrington Fire Department, 100 Federal Road.

“We’re really counting on the community to fill up those bags with healthy food this year,” said Andrew Schiff, chief executive officer of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank.

“The Boy Scouts make it easy for everyone to participate in our biggest food drive of the year, and the need has never been greater," he said. "Right now, more than 65,000 Rhode Islanders rely on our statewide network of emergency food programs just to meet their basic food needs – and one in three of those people is a child under the age of 18. We hope everyone will do their part and join the Boy Scouts in making sure that no Rhode Islander goes hungry.”

Scouting for Food also is supported by WPRI Channel 12; FOX Providence; the Rhode Island Army National Guard; Raymour & Flanigan; Walgreens, and local fire stations.