More than 500 Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts performed a good turn for the hungry during the annual Scouting for Food service project in the Long Cane district. Scouts distributed bags on Saturday, February 3^rd, and returned on Saturday, February 10^th, to collect almost two thousand canned goods.  The Blue Ridge Council has collected more than 33 million cans of food during the 23-year history of the drive.

The Scouting For Food service project benefits the Greenwood County Food Bank in Greenwood, South Carolina.  The Greenwood County Food Bank distributes the food to the needy of the communities in and around Greenwood, South Carolina.

BACKGROUND
Scouting for Food is the nation's largest one-day food drive, raising 15 percent of area food pantries' yearly supply and feeding the hungry in the community for three months.

In the city of Greenwood and Greenwood County, the items are boxed and sent to the Greenwood County Food Bank for distribution to more than 500 family in the Greenwood area area.  Within 48 hours of the Scouts' pick-up, the donations will be on pantry shelves ready to feed the needy.

You and Your Family Can Help Fight Hunger at Home
More than ever, our community needs help. Approximately 4,358 people receive assistance each year from the Greenwood County Food Bank.  The poverty rate in the our area continues to increase. By participating in Scouting for Food, you and your family can fight hunger at home.

Donations Are Necessary, Nutritious Donations Are Needed
Make contributions for other families based on what you would choose for your own.

Healthy, nutritious meals are not only important for everyone, but are especially important for the proper development of children. Children under age 18 comprise 36.6 percent of those served by the Greenwood County Food Bank.

Drive Safe and Slow, Scouts Are on the Go
With more than 500 Scouting for Food participants canvassing neighborhoods, both Scouts and drivers alike are reminded to exercise caution. Motorists should be careful when backing out of driveways and reduce speeds by 5 to 10 miles per hour while traveling in subdivisions.

“Scouting for Food” is Scouting’s community stewardship project aimed at addressing the problem of hunger in the community in which we live and work. Scouting for Food is a food collection effort carried out by Boy Scouts, Venturers, and Cub Scouts from your community. Food drives can be organized at the district level or by each individual unit as needed. Scouts distribute food drive donation requests (flyers, notes, and/or bags) throughout a designated area and then return to collect plastic grocery bags filled with donated food. The bags are collected and carried to local food pantries, churches, shelters for the homeless, and other local agencies that feed the needy.

Scouting for Food is a project rooted in the very foundation of the Scouting movement. Through initiative and hard work, the Boy Scouts have developed a framework that can help local food pantries feed tens of thousands of needy local residents with emergency aid. It is up to the people of your community to make Scouting for Food a success. The Scouting for Food Campaign will continue to bring Scout units closer to their Chartered Organizations and communities by focusing their food campaign efforts on a pantry in their immediate area, possibly associated with their own Chartered Organization.

The campaign is flexible and units may schedule their campaign at a time convenient for their members and based on the needs of their local pantry. The mechanics of the campaign are open-ended. Units may do more than one food drive and are encouraged to match their food drive(s) to the needs of their local food pantries. Units may elect to use food bags provided by a local grocer, use bags provided by the Long Cane District or Blue Ridge Council (when available), or develop a campaign strategy best suited to their membership and abilities.

Scouts and Leaders from Troop 313 collect items for their annual "Scouting For Food" service project.