Scouting for Food is a massive, annual, council wide food drive.  This community service project is a dedicated opportunity for your unit to help fight hunger locally.  Each year, scouts collect thousands of pounds of food for local food banks in the Chief Seattle Council area or for operations that serve these food banks. Your hard work makes a world of difference. Each year, scouts collect well over 60,000 pounds of food. 

 

NOTE: Some food banks have stopped collecting physical donations, so make sure to check to make sure that your chosen food bank or pantry can accept your non-perishable donations.

 

Here are answers to common questions about running a successful food drive. Please also see “Ready to Host a Food Drive?” for how Hopelink suggests running a Food Drive.

 

You can register your Pack\Troop at Scouting for Food – Chief Seattle Council.

 

Which food bank should we support?

Lake Trails usually works with Hopelink (https://www.hopelink.org/programs/food-program/), but your Pack or Troop can choose a different local food bank if that’s easier for drop-offs. You can find a list of King County food banks at Food Pantries/Banks here.

Important: Check what items your chosen food bank accepts before you start collecting. Hopelink has a list of accepted items here: https://www.hopelink.org/ways-to-help/hosting-a-food-drive/

 

Where do we drop off the donations?

Contact your food bank ahead of time to arrange drop-off details. For Hopelink, email or call Debbie at drives@hopelink.org or (425) 869-2440 to set up a time and location. Other food banks have similar requirements. Don’t skip this step—you need to make sure the location is open and ready to receive your donations.

 

Who runs the food drive?

You need at least one person to lead the drive and coordinate all the details.

 

Who will transport the donations?

Decide who will pick up collected items and deliver them to the food bank. This is important because you may end up with a lot of donations to move.

 

How and where should we collect donations?

Here are some options:

At a store: Set up a table in front of a local grocery store (get permission from the store first). Grocery stores work well because people can buy items to donate right away. The table could be set up on multiple days or just once and be run with just a few Scouts (and their parents). You can print shopping lists of accepted items to hand out – find Hopelink’s list here: https://www.hopelink.org/ways-to-help/hosting-a-food-drive/

At school: Work with your PTA and school to collect donations there. Spiritridge Elementary, in Bellevue, ran a successful drive this fall with PTA support for advertising. Note: PTAs cannot run food drives themselves, but they can help promote yours.

Neighborhood drop-off point: Use your regular meeting location or a Pack/Troop family’s home as a collection spot. If you use the home of the family doing the final drop-off, that makes things even easier!

Door-to-door: Have your Pack or Troop collect donations by going door-to-door. Those items can then be brought to your meeting location or a neighborhood drop-off. Door to door or at a store are great ways for Scouts to serve their community, show neighbors what Scouting is about, and earn community service hours for high school Scouts.

NOTE: respect “no solicitor” signs at homes.

One more reminder:

Make sure you know who will pick up and deliver the donations and coordinate with the Food Bank\Pantry on delivery —this will really help your food drive succeed!