To do a good deed

Troop 200 Boy Scout members Greg Ulm and Pack 200 Cub Scout Tyler Chapman gladly accepts a donation of canned goods from Margaret and Paul Cox of Dexter. Scouting for Food Week starts this Saturday, Nov. 15. Residents will have one week to fill bags with donated canned goods and the bags will be picked up the following Saturday, Nov. 22. [Click to enlarge]

For over 90 years Boy Scouts have worked to live up to the Scout Slogan - to "Do a Good Turn Daily." and to live up to their oath to "help other people at all times." For the next two weekends, boys will be putting their slogan and Scout Oath into practical action.

The Scouting for Food (SFF) week begins this Saturday and Boy Scouts from Dexter Troop 200 and Cub Scouts from Pack 200 will be out distributing bags and looking for generous donations from Stoddard County residents. The bags will be distributed on Saturday, Nov. 15 and collected on Saturday, Nov. 22.

Cub Scout Pack 200 Den Leader Bennetta Harrellson said SFF is the nation's largest single day food drive and part of the Boy Scout's philosophy. Local Boy Scouts regularly collect over 6,000 cans annually for distribution around Stoddard County.

The 40 members of Boy Scout Troop 200 and 80 members of Cub Scout Pack 200 will be combining forces to distribute 6,000 food bags this Saturday.

"We will probably be putting out some of the bags on Friday night, because some of the boys will be going out of town for the weekend," Harrellson said. "They will still be collected with all of the others next Saturday."

According to a U.S. Census Bureau Report, the number of poor in America rose for two consecutive years in 2001 and 2002. The economic conditions have not helped to curb the need for food at the Stoddard County Gospel Mission.

All donations are gladly accepted, but registered dietitian Roberta L. Duyff suggests donating a variety of nutritious items, such as cans of chili, soups, tuna, pasta sauce, evaporated milk, fruit and vegetables.

Once the food is brought to the SCGM, Director Betty Lemons takes over. It's sorted and used to help fill over 1,500 Christmas baskets. Lemons said they distributed only about 600 Christmas baskets when she started there 11 years ago.

"From the food the Scouts collect we pull out the green beans, corn, pumpkin, evaporated milk and fruit for the Christmas baskets," Lemons said. "The remaining items will go in the regular food baskets that we do each month."

The SCGM serves over 1,200 families with free food every month from each of their branches. They also have branches in Puxico and Advance.

"Anyone in the county is eligible to come here, but a lot of people don't have transportation," Lemons said. "Our other locations help reach the people not in this area."

Getting food into the bags collected by the Boy Scouts is only the beginning of the process.

"We will have a lot of volunteers here on the Thursday and Friday before we distribute," Lemons said. "We will prepare 3000 bags, two for each family. It takes two days to get it all ready."

Lemons said the total Christmas gift basket project costs around $30,000 and they are very limited on the amount of items that they receive from the government. Therefore, they have to rely on the generosity of the community. If someone is interested in providing more than just a few cans of food, Lemons said it's possible to sponsor a family with a monetary gift.

"Last month we got only four free government items," Lemons said. "We never ask for finances. This is the only time ask for any financial help."

People picking up food this year from the SCGM need not worry.

"People always get here early," Lemons said. "I guess they're afraid that well run out, but we've never run out."

"Scouting for Food is a major project that we very much appreciate, because of what it does," Lemons said. "Everything is used and everything is appreciated."

Harrellson stressed that Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts will distribute bags for canned donations this weekend, and will be out early next Saturday to collect throughout the community. Persons who would like to donate to the project but do not receive bag this weekend, may contact Harrellson.