Scouts ask community to help stock food bank – Salisbury Post

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Scouts load up food to be delivered to the Freedom Christian Worship Center Food Bank.

Danielle Frick, Rowdy Hage, Paisley Stevens, Carrie Hecdrix, Jackson Hendricks, Colton Mickey, and Webrow leaders Tony Fauth and Adrain Fauth are busy working on this project. – Karen Kistler

ROCKWELL — Doing all they can to help fight food insecurity, the 324th and 4324th Troops and the 324th are once again participating in the Food Scouting Program.

All three groups met at Rock Grove Church in Rockwell, and during the Jan. 17 meeting, they prepared to place 400 bags in the community filled with nonperishable food to donate to local food banks.

Before placing specially prepared stickers on the bags with pertinent information such as program name, date and time, Troop 4324 Scoutmaster Ann Barber shared the history of Scouting for Food. He told the group that it began in 1985 as a Scout service project. Located in the St. Louis area.

Barber said the scout was thinking about how people were struggling because it was just after Christmas and electricity bills were rising due to the cold weather. As he was thinking about what he could do, “he came up with Scouting for Food, and it blossomed, and the Boy Scouts of America decided to adopt it and make it a national program.”

She said most people drop off their bags on the last Saturday in January, and local troops will be out in the community on Jan. 27 dropping regular-sized paper shopping bags on porches and balconies. , is said to be doing so. Ask people to put food in. He then plans to return the following Saturday to collect them, sort the food, excluding damaged or expired items, and deliver it to the Freedom Christian Worship Center Food Bank in Rockwell to be stocked on shelves.

The food bank has received food from these scouts for years, and local food pantry directors Jerry Menster and Pat Flannery attended the meeting to discuss their service efforts and how much help they have. I shared a little about it. Scout gave them.

Menster said the biggest impact of their support was two years ago.

They were getting food by truck as usual, but the quantity was small, and “we didn’t know every week if we had enough, but every week we had enough, and a lot of it came from you.” It belonged to me.” That’s what led to it,” he told the scouts and his parents and coaches.

Local food banks serve Rowan County, he said. Therefore, through food donations, they may be providing assistance to their neighbors, classmates and relatives, he pointed out.

Please note that families come to the food bank twice a month and may be able to help up to 250 people a month.

Menster said he and Flannery have been in charge of the church’s food bank for more than 12 years, helping people get food, “but helping the Boy Scouts is also part of what we want to do.” “It’s one,” he said. “They help the neighborhood. They also help the elderly in the neighborhood. They learn, we learn, and we all benefit.”

Ryan Smith, Troop 324 Scoutmaster and Pack 324 Cubmaster and Scout parent, said the three troops have been participating in food scouting for more than 10 years.

Some of the Scouts who previously participated in this project shared the importance of providing food and thereby helping the community.

Dale Kepley, the senior unit leader for Troop 324, said they are helping people who can’t get food on their own. It shows you can help people.”

Unit 4324 leader Allie Forman said it’s “hard to describe” being part of a group that helps others, but added, “It feels good, but it’s very difficult at times, but it’s hard to put into words what it feels like to be part of a group that helps others.” I feel like it is,” he said. helping people. ”

“I’m proud to see all of these Scouts working so hard to help others,” Smith said, adding, “I’m honored to see all the good things they do for others. It makes me even more excited to know that we have boys and girls in our troop and it is an honor to be the parent and leader of such a wonderful group of Scouts.”

In addition to scouts, leaders and parents in attendance, Chad Wells, district officer for the Central North Carolina Council, also attended the meeting to support the children. He noted that Wells oversees both Rowan and Cabarrus counties.

Before the group began preparing the bags, Ms. Barber pointed to a table full of food and held out various items as examples of what can be donated to food banks, as she spoke to Scout parent and helper Leslie Kepley. I thanked him for bringing me the bag. . It was then sent along with Menster and Flannery as the beginning of a donation to the troop’s food scouts. Menster said everything can be used.

Barber said he wants to stock pantries with all food groups, pointing to proteins like peanut butter in plastic jars.

Pointing out breakfast food, she said, “Homeless people come out and actually pick up the breakfast items and put them in their pockets because they can eat them later.” He said he discovered it.

Therefore, it’s a good idea to donate breakfast bars, toaster pastries, or other items along with oatmeal that can provide something warm on cold mornings.

Rice and pasta with sauce, individual tins of ravioli, boxes of potatoes, and canned fruits and vegetables are all delicious and useful items that kids can use. And the big item they give out is yogurt, she added.

“The word they use when people are hungry is food insecurity,” Barber told them. “That’s pretty bad. It means they’re not getting enough food, so we’re trying to supplement that. In some cases, it’s the only food they have. there is.”

In addition to donating food, Menster said people can also donate money, which people can take to local stores or Harvest Foods in Charlotte and use it to buy food. .

Barber said the event is a great time, likening the food drive to an Easter egg hunt.

“When you put these bags out, they fall flat. It wasn’t full or anything, and the next week we went out on the porch and thought, ‘Look, they remembered us.’ Ta. “I said, ‘I have a bag,’ and I ran to get it,” she said.

Last year, they collected more than 3,000 pounds of food, she said.

Dale Kepley said as he looked at these filled bags. I feel a sense of accomplishment. ”

Foreman similarly said she feels good when she sees bags of food, “because then I know I’m helping people.”

Menster said people talk about how grateful they are for what they receive.

“You’re one of them,” he told the scouts. “We don’t bring in food, we give it away,” he said of him and Flannery, expressing how grateful they are to bring in food.

Leslie Kepley said bringing in food to help “means a lot to the community” and “gets the kids involved.” It teaches kids how to act for the community, how to raise money and do it, make food, do whatever, but they’re doing it for the community; It’s not something we benefit from. you’re going to need it. ”

In conclusion, Menster told the story of a family who has been coming to the food bank for 10 years and received beautiful letters describing how they shared food with families in need, but who asked to be taken off the list. Stated. We no longer need food bank services.

“That’s our goal,” he said, “to help someone enough so that they can help themselves.”

Serving, supporting, and participating in this special scouting project means “we are all in this together, working together to make our communities respectful and safe for everyone.” It means recognizing that there are people out there,” Barber said. It is an opportunity for us to show service and be hands and feet in service. ”