Scouts kick off month-long Scouting for Food service project
25th anniversary food drive culminates with Walmart collection
SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— Boy Scouts across the Ozarks are going door-to-door in March to collect nonperishable food items for Ozarks Food Harvest during their 25th annual Scouting for Food food drive. The project wraps up on Saturday, March 29 with a one-day, community-wide food drive at several Walmart locations.
“The Boy Scouts’ food drive was once our largest community food drive,” said Denise Gibson, development director at Ozarks Food Harvest. “With Walmart’s generous partnership this year, the Scouts are anticipating record donations to help feed the increased number of people in need in our region.”
Community members can donate in grocery sacks left on their door by Scouts, or on Saturday, March 29 from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. at Walmart stores including all Springfield Walmart Supercenter locations, Walmart Neighborhood Market on Republic Rd. and Walmart in Ozark and Republic. Boy Scouts are volunteering to collect food from shoppers. Donations will also be accepted at Ozarks Food Harvest, 2810 N. Cedarbrook Ave. and Ozark Trails Council headquarters, 1616 S. Eastgate, both in Springfield.
Ozarks Food Harvest distributes the donations to 200 pantries and programs across 28 counties. Scouting for Food collected nearly 17,000 pounds of food items last year. In the past 10 years alone, local Scouts collected about 120,000 pounds, or 100,000 meals.
Most needed items include canned meats such as tuna, peanut butter, beans, boxed or canned meals, rice and pasta, canned vegetables and fruit and cereal. All donations should be in undamaged and unexpired packages, and glass containers are not accepted.
For more information, contact Ann Pfeiffer at (417) 883-1636 or go to ozarktrailsbsa.org.
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About Ozarks Food Harvest The Food Bank
Ozarks Food Harvest is the Feeding America food bank for southwest Missouri, serving 200 organizations across 28 Ozarks counties. The Food Bank distributes 10 million meals annually to 170,000 unduplicated individuals. OFH celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2013 and received its second consecutive Four-Star Charity Navigator rating the same year. Learn more at ozarksfoodharvest.org, facebook.com/ozarksfoodharvest or twitter.com/ozksfoodharvest.