Scouts Aim to Fill the Food Pantries

The New Lenox Scouts are expected this week to fan out across the town delivering grocery bags they hope will be filled with donated food items. Their aim is to collect enough donations to stock the food pantries for the holidays and beyond.

The goal is to collect 50,000 food items.

Be on the look-out for clusters of youngsters toting brown grocery bags and delivering them door-to-door from Nov. 1-Nov. 6. They'll stop back on Nov. 11 to collect the donations of non-perishable food. All items will be delivered to the designated sorting and distribution site, Lincoln-Way West High School, 21701 Gougar Road. From there, everything is divided up and delivered to three food pantries in town:

• New Lenox Township
• New Life Church
• St. Jude Catholic Church

About 400 Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Brownies and Girl Scouts are participating in the food drive, said Bill Thomson, director of the Scouts' food drive. The Scouts expect to hand out 9,500 bags, which were donated by Central Grocers, Inc. Last year they delivered 9,000 bags and

The father of two boys and the Assistant Scout Master for Boy Scout Troop 755 in New Lenox, Thomson said the Boy Scouts initiated the food drive a decade ago and opened it up to Girl Scout troops about four years ago. It became a total Scouting event.    

Kathy Skonicki, the leader for Brownie Troop 107 as well as Cadet Girl Scout Troop 375, said the kids are looking forward to it. "It's a very positive experience."

In light of the success of the annual food collection drive in New Lenox, Thomson said the Morris-based Rainbow Council of the Boys Scouts of American, which oversees Scouting activities for Will, Gundy and Kankakee Counties, is looking to mirror the program in other regions.

There is  a broader Boy Scout Food Drive that is being conducted across three counties (Will, Grundy and Kankakee).  The Boy Scouts in the three counties will be putting out 200,000 bags with a goal of collecting 500,000 food items.  Our efforts will count towards this broader goal.

"The program has been great; it helps our community and the kids enjoy participating in this," said Thompson.

Reflecting on the larger society perspective, Thomson said this kind of activity helps to shape the kids attitudes about serving other people. "That's what we're here to do; the Scouts are here to do a good turn in the community."

For Kathy Johnson, director of the New Lenox Township Food Pantry, this collection is a main event. It comes at a time when the shelves are sparse. The food pantry is never far from the heart of the community, she added. Community groups, individuals, civic organizations and businesses regularly step up to the plate with food and monetary donations. "This is a very generous community," she said.

Readers might like:

• Old Plank Trail Community Bank's Pant for the Pantry

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