Aquia District BSA Scouts in Stafford County are distributing door hanger reminders for the annual Scouting for Food event to stock local food pantries. Scouts will return Saturday to collect donations of non-perishables from doorsteps and driveways.
The BSA Scouting program encourages youth to serve their communities by addressing food insecurity in the annual BSA Scouting For Food Drive. Stafford Scouts collect donations to stock local food pantries for the holidays and the months beyond. Items in demand include canned proteins; nut butters; meat-based soups, stews and chili; canned vegetables, beans and fruits; healthy cereals; rice and pastas; and hygiene products.
BSA units are going door-to-door with door hangers, rallying neighborhoods or asking for donations at store-fronts. This year, community members also have the option to donate online. Partnering with You Give Goods, Aquia District BSA Scouts has created a virtual food drive that will benefit local food pantries; visit yougivegoods.com/aquiadistrict-scoutingforfood2023.
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Scouts and other volunteers work together to collect, unload, weigh and sort non-perishable food donated by neighbors to help neighbors. Donation recipients include St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, Hartwood Presbyterian Church, St. William of York Catholic Church, SERVE, Andrew Chapel UMC and Hollywood Church of the Brethren. In 2022, over 750 Stafford Scouts, leaders and family members from 35 different Scout units collected close to 23,900 pounds of food.
Per Feeding America’s website, the 4.3% food insecurity rate in Stafford equates to 6,640 Stafford residents, with an annual food budget shortfall of $4,658,000. The face of food insecurity is often families who have both parents working and earning enough to be above the federal poverty level but below the basic cost of living. For Stafford-area BSA Scouts, these are faces they see at school every day, and through Scouting For Food, Scouts learn they can help those neighbors in need.
Residents who do not receive a door tag may drop off donations on Saturday, by noon, at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, 1201 Courthouse Drive, Stafford VA 22554; or Hartwood Presbyterian Church, 25 Hartwood Road, Fredericksburg 22406. Or they can order a donation and have it sent via You Give Goods as noted above. Those wishing to contribute who cannot make it this time or if their donation was missed should email [email protected] to make arrangements for a pick up. More information is available at tinyurl.com/staffordscoutingforfood.
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