The Cascade Pacific Council, Boy Scouts of America, will conduct the annual Scouting for Food drive on Saturday, December 5th. The Scouting for Food drive is recognized as the last major food drive of the year for northwest Oregon and southwest Washington area emergency food agencies. It is anticipated that 10,000 local Scouts will go door-to-door to collect an estimated 500,000 pounds of canned goods and other non-perishable food for those in need.
In Oregon, 1 in 5 of our neighbors is experiencing hunger. High unemployment and growing foreclosures forced a record number of people in Oregon and Clark County, Wash., to seek emergency food assistance this year. Distribution of emergency food boxes has skyrocketed to historic highs with increases of more than 14 percent from 792,000 in 2007-08 to 897,000 in 2008-09 – an annual increase of 105,000 additional emergency food boxes.
The number of people per month who ate meals from an emergency food box jumped from an average of 200,000 per month in 2007-08 to 240,000 per month in 2008-09. And, households with children are the largest group receiving emergency food. In an average month, an estimated 85,000 children ate meals from an emergency food box.
Each year in the Portland Metropolitan area, the Boy Scouts of America (Cascade Pacific Council), along with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Portland Fire and Rescue, Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue 40 other volunteer agencies collect food to provide for households in need. Last year, these agencies provided food for approximately 10,000 families; unfortunately, there are more that need help this year.
Throughout the day Saturday December 5th, Scouts will collect food from local residents, then take donations to nearby drop-sites where items are distributed to local food agencies. In some neighborhoods Scouts may drop off a white bag a week prior to Saturday, December 5th to allow more time for residents to fill bags with food donations. However, Scouts may simply show up at doorsteps and request donations on Saturday morning. Items most needed are non-perishable canned and packaged foods such as meat, soups, stews, fruits, vegetables, pasta, rice, cereal, beans, lentils, peanut butter, tuna, and baby food.
“This food drive is so critical because Oregon remains among the top states in the nation in hunger,” says Jeff Aradine, Cascade Pacific Council, Boy Scouts of America program director. “We count on the generosity of Oregonians to donate food, we count on the Scouts to collect it, and local food agencies to dispense it to those in need,” he adds. “The project is a collaborative effort that is challenging and demanding, but most of all rewarding.”
Anyone can participate in the Scouting for Food event by dropping non-perishable food items such as peanut butter, soups, canned meats, pastas and canned vegetables at any Fire and Rescue Station in the Washington and Multnomah counties on Saturday, December 5th.
St. Vincent de Paul Food Recovery Network
St. Vincent de Paul Food Recovery Network coordinates the efforts of over 89 agencies as well as manage special works programs including coordinating emergency services, operating a prepared and perishable food recovery program, maintaining a food bank, providing emergency rent and utility assistance, and maintaining a support structure for information, referral, and linkage in assistance to the conference volunteers. Through the years our mission has remained the same: provide compassion and support to individuals in need, regardless of race, origin, religion or gender.
Cascade Pacific Council
Cascade Pacific Council ranks among the nation’s largest Scout councils (more than 300) in terms of membership. The Cascade Pacific Council serves more than 48,000 youth in 18 counties in northwest Oregon and southwest Washington, and is supported by more than 15,500 adult volunteer mentors. For more information please contact Jeff Aradine, Program Manager, 503-225-5767.
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Further Information should be directed to:
Sharon Hills
Executive Director
Office: (503) 234-5287
sharon@svdppdx.org
I left a bag of food out on my front porch for the Scouts this morning. This is a really good cause and I do it every year.
Thank you all for your help
Thank you for your support, Tom. This year our approximate, unoffical, total poundage was 135,833 pounds –which was 3,000 more than last year!
Scouting for food was a great success!