Lemont Scouts hold food drive to benefit local food pantries

Lemont Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, and Girl Scouts partnered together over the weekend to kickoff the annual food drive. Boy Scout Troop 229 hosted the event with additional scouts from Cub Scout Pack 249 and Girl Scout Troops 75480, 75569, 75626, and 75700. The scouts participated in the annual Boy Scouts of America food drive called ‘Scouting For Food’ (SFF). SFF has been an annual endeavor of the BSA nationwide, and this is the first time the program has been brought to Lemont.

Over the weekend, scouts covered a number of neighborhoods in Lemont, placing thousands of grocery bags at the doorsteps of homes. What makes this food drive unique is that the scouts make it easy for donations as they bring the food drive to the homeowner. Attached to the bags were instructions that if the homeowner wished to donate, they simply need to fill those grocery bags with non-perishable foods and leave the bag on their porch at the specified time—the scouts will then return the next weekend to pick up the donations. Once all the donations are picked up, the scouts will bring them to local food pantries.

The food drive is normally scheduled this time of the year so that food pantries can be better stocked for the holidays. Those involved in the project said they are hopeful that everyone can come together to make a big positive impact for our community. Organizers are very happy to have scouts from a number of different units working together for a common goal and hope to grow the food drive in future years.