GREENSBORO, N.C. — A study by Feeding America shows more than 1.6 million North Carolinians are food insecure. As the Boy Scouts of America celebrates its anniversary this month, it's giving back to the community with the Scouting for Food campaign.
Aaron Walters with Boy Scouts of America and Chip Berry with Greensboro Urban Ministry joined the Good Morning Show to talk about the initiative.
“Last weekend our scouts went out into neighborhoods and put out door hangers, and if your received a door hanger, all you have to do is put food on the porch and scouts are coming out to collect food this weekend Saturday February 17th,” Walters said. “They’ll start in the morning, and they’ll pick up food and take it to their local food shelters.”
Scouts from the eight counties of the Old North State Council (Alamance, Caswell, Davidson, Davie, Guilford, Person, Randolph, Rockingham) will then deliver the collected items to food pantries, churches, and other locations around the Council Area.
Each year, the Old North State Council collects between 45,000 and 55,000 pounds of food for those in need. Greensboro Urban Ministry is one of the organizations that benefits from the Scouting for Food campaign.
“In the last year there’s been a huge increase in people coming to our food pantry,” Berry said. “It’s gone from about an average of a 100 a day to as many as 200 families coming to our food pantry to get food. It all comes from the community. If it weren’t’ for programs like the scouts, we would not be able to meet this demand.”
If you would like to participate, but don't receive a door hanger, take your donations to any of the following locations on Saturday, Feb. 17 between the hours of 10:00 am – 2:00 pm. Let the organization know you have a donation for Scouting for Food.
Alamance County
- Allied Churches, 206 N. Fisher St., Burlington, NC 27217
- Harvest Baptist Church, 3741 S. Church Street, Burlington, NC 27215
- Mebane Presbyterian, 402 S. 5th St., Mebane, NC 27302
- S.A.F.E., 5950 Hwy 87 S., Graham, NC 27253
- Salvation Army, 812 Anthony St., Burlington, NC 27215
Davidson County
- Pastor’s Pantry, 307 N. State Street, Lexington, NC 27293
Davie County
- Storehouse for Jesus, 675 E. Lexington Road, Mocksville, NC 27028 *Closed on Saturdays. Donations accepted Monday Feb. 13
Guilford County
- D-Up Inc., 613 Washington St., High Point, NC 27260
- Greensboro Urban Ministry, 305 W. Gate City Blvd., Greensboro, NC 27406
- Love In Need, Mt. Gilead United Methodist Church, 4736 Mount Gilead Church Road, Trinity, NC 27370
Randolph County
- Community Outreach of Archdale and Trinity, 10607 U.S. 311, Archdale, NC 27263