Issaquah and Sammamish Boy Scout Troops Scouting for Food

The Western Washington councils of the Boy Scouts of America are teaming up with local residents in the fight against hunger. Next weekend, Saturday, March 17, Cub and Boy Scouts from the Chief Seattle, and Pacific Harbors (Tacoma) Councils will disperse door hangers around their neighborhoods to ask the community for your help with food donations.

Packs and troops from both the Sammamish Trails and Alpine Districts will participate. Sammamish Trails includes scouts in first through fifth grade in Sammamish, Redmond, and Kirkland. The Alpine District includes scouts in Issaquah, Sammamish, North Bend, and Fall City.

If you want to participate, please leave donated items on your doorstep on Saturday, March 24 by 8 a.m. The Scouts will collect and transport the food to a local food bank later that day. Sammamish Trails scouts will be collecting for Hopelink this year, and Alpine District Scouts in our area will be collecting for a number of foodbanks, including the Issaquah Food & Clothing Bank.

Through partnerships with more than 50 local food banks, the Scouting for Food Drive provides more than 500,000 cans of food annually to needy families. This community service project is designed to help fill the shelves of neighborhood food banks at a time of year when needs are high and supplies are low.

“The concept of serving other people at all times, as stated in our Scout Oath, is something we emphasize with both the youth and adults in our programs,” said Sharon Moulds, Chief Seattle Council spokesperson. “Scouting for Food is meant to include everyone in the community; you don’t have to be a member of Scouting to help in the fight against hunger.”

               
                It is estimated that nationally 50.2 million people including 17.2 million children live in homes that experience hunger: where meals are frequently skipped or who go without food for a whole day (U.S. Dept of Agriculture, Household Food Security in the United States, 2009). Through the combined efforts of local residents, neighborhood food banks and the Boy Scouts of America, hungry families will know that their community cares by providing meals for them.