Monday, November 23, 2015

Scouting for Food collected a ton of food this year!

Saturday, Nov. 21, 2015 in Princeton, Calif.

Scouting for Food was a huge success this year with the the Scouts from Troop 255 and Pack 255 collecting a ton of food for the Coastside Opportunity Center. You probably think I'm using the word "ton" as a synonym for "a lot," right? No, I mean they actually collected a ton -- more than 2,000 pounds, in fact. The total tally at the end of the day was 2,400 pounds -- nearly 1.25 tons!


Checking expiration dates and sorting food into barrels

Working at the warehouse in Princeton, Scouts from both Troops/Packs 255 and 263 tallied a total weight of 5,400 pounds between the four scout organizations, at least 25 percent more than the previous year.  The amount of food the Scouts processed was so far beyond expectations that the Coastside Opportunity Center ran out of barrels and had to sort some of the final items into shopping carts. No problem! Coastside Opportunity Center's administrators say that all food is welcome, and that given the current rate of distribution, every morsel collected will be given to someone in need in short order.


Let's see, where do the glass jars go again? 
Oh, yeah, in the plastic crates

Less than 10 percent of the food sorted had to be rejected because it was past its expiration date, a phenomenally good rate given past history. That means for every 10 barrels of food sorted, we had less than one barrel-full of expired items.


Partial view of filled barrels; 
10 barrels had already been taken to the pantry

Overall, it was a huge success. The Scouts should be very proud of their efforts to aid those in need in our community.


Filled, checked, and ready to go to the pantry for distribution


Remember the Scout Slogan: Do a Good Turn Daily!

To all who helped to make this happen -- THANK YOU!!!