PITTSFIELD — Members of Venture Crew 2713, Scout Troop 428 and Cub Scout Pack 428 held a Scouting for Food event Nov. 6 at Bud’s Shop-n-Save.

Scouting for Food, established in 1985, is an ongoing annual program of the Boy Scouts of America that involves collecting food for local food banks. The project is rooted in the foundation of the Scouting movement and its dedication to implement the Scout slogan of “Do a Good Turn Daily.”

This year the groups embraced the “Fill the Canoe” theme for the event. Shelley Connolly, one of the leaders of the Scouting programs in Pittsfield, said, “Early in the morning, one of the first supporters told the Scouts that he had been a Scout leader in Fairfield when his children were growing up and he was going to help get them started. He returned from the store with a couple boxes of food, but he also bought the Scouts a package of Oreos to snack on. The event was a significant success again this year. Cashiers told Scout leaders that many people were buying bags and boxes of food items as they were so excited to see the Scouts cheerfully serving their community,” according to a news release from Chuck Mahaleris, district vice chairman for Kennebec Valley District of Scouting.

While some patrons gave food items, others gave the Scouts money which the older Scouts used to purchase items to fill gaps above what was already donated. For example, Venture Scout Emma Hodgdon bought baby food and snack items, while Boy Scout Carl Tilton bought holiday food items such as cranberry sauce, olives and pie filling.

“At the end of the day, the Scouts had enough food donated to fill three canoes or more,” Connolly said. “They wish to humbly thank their community and Bud’s Shop-n-Save for their very generous support of their Scouting for Food event. The Scouts learned, in a genuine way, what the word community means. They offer a special thank you to Shop-n-Save store manager Chris Peterson for his continual support and for promoting the event on the store’s social media.”

The food collected is being delivered to the Pittsfield Food Pantry.

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