This story was written by Marsha Keefer and originally appeared in the Beaver County Times. Used with permission.
It’s time to scour cupboards and pantries for canned goods and nonperishable items to donate to local food banks.
The annual Scouting for Food campaign, a partnership of the Laurel Highlands Council, Boy Scouts of America and United Way of Beaver County, starts in April.
That’s earlier than in years past, when Beaver County’s campaign was conducted in June.
“We’re running Scouting for Food the same month as the rest of the country,” said Michael J. Rubino, who became United Way’s new executive director last September, “to take advantage of marketing materials and advertising.”
It’s never too early to fight hunger — especially when thousands of people, children included, go to bed hungry nearly every day.
“The need is always there,” Rubino said, citing sobering statistics.
The poverty rate in Beaver County is just below 13 percent, he said, and an estimated 4,000 residents rely on food support from local food banks every month. The county’s population is about 170,115.
According to 2014 statistics from the federal government, the poverty level for a family of four is an annual income of $23,850 or less.
Scouting for Food, now in its 29th year, is a way to help our neighbors, Rubino said. And the joint partnership enables United Way to augment what Scouts do.
United Way is “supplementing, not replacing” their efforts, Rubino said. “We can get the message out large scale.”
And this year’s drive, which Rubino intends to make “bigger and better,” already is off to a good start. United Way mailed close to 200 letters and registration forms to area companies and organizations seeking their help by asking employees or members to bring canned foods and household products to workplaces during the month of April.
Last year, 14 participated.
“So far, we’re up to 26 and still getting more. We’re hoping to at least double as far as the organizations participating,” Rubino said.
Foods with high nutritional value — high-fiber cereals, canned fruits, vegetables and soups, canned meats, tuna, peanut butter — are in high demand, said Nancy Murphy, administrative assistant for United Way.
But also needed are household products such as laundry detergent, soaps, cleaning products and toilet paper, she said. Many of these products are not covered by government-funded food vouchers, Rubino said.
All donations will be delivered to the Salvation Army’s Beaver Falls chapter, which will distribute the goods to 16 food cooperatives in Beaver County.
Cash donations to support Scouting for Food also are accepted. Checks can be made payable to either United Way or Salvation Army, with “Scouting for Food” written on the check’s memo line. All money will go to Salvation Army.
Companies have the option of having their collection boxes picked up by the United Way or the Salvation Army — or delivering them to the Salvation Army in Beaver Falls themselves.
Also in April, approximately 730 of the Laurel Highlands Council’s Boy and Cub Scout troops and packs in a nine-county area of southwestern Pennsylvania — including Beaver and Allegheny counties — will canvass communities, leaving door hangers detailing specifics of Scouting for Food.
Residents will be asked to place their donations in paper or plastic bags outside their front doors by 9 a.m.
Scouts will collect bags on Saturdays in April; door hangers will specify which dates.
Last year, Scouting for Food collected approximately 370,000 units for Beaver County, Murphy said. A unit of food is equivalent to a can of food with a value of 74 cents. Extra units are awarded to most-needed items.
These point values, Rubino said, are a “way for the Boy Scouts to know how they’re doing and what the impact is in their communities.”
Murphy said cash contributions last year totaled about $23,500.
Any business or organization that did not receive a letter or registration form from United Way and would like to participate may contact Rubino at 724-774-3210 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays.
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Drop Off Donations Here
Ten area businesses and organizations participating in Scouting for Food are open to the public to drop off canned goods and non-perishable donations, said Michael J. Rubino, executive director of United Way of Beaver County.
United Way and Laurel Highlands Council, Boy Scouts of America are partnering in the initiative, now in its 29th year, to help stock local food pantries with much-needed supplies and paper products.
The drive begins Wednesday and continues through the month of April.
Sites are:
*United Way of Beaver County, 3582 Brodhead Road, Center Township.
*Minuteman Press, 920 Seventh Ave., Beaver Falls.
*Homemaker Home Health-Beaver, 376 Market St., Bridgewater.
*ESB Bank, any location.
*Borough of Monaca, 928 Pennsylvania Ave., Monaca.
*West AirComm-Beaver, 485 Buffalo St., Beaver.
*State Rep. Rob Matzie, D-16, Ambridge, 1240 Merchant St., Ambridge.
*The Cornerstone, 1217 Seventh Ave., Beaver Falls.
*WBVP, 1316 Seventh Ave., Beaver Falls.
*Salvation Army Food Pantry, 721 13th St., Beaver Falls.
