Cub Scout Pack 4166 collects food for local pantry

By Kelly Terpstra, kterpstra@charlescitypress.com

A can of green beans, a box of pasta or a jar of peanut butter — every little bit can help when someone is hungry.

Cub Scout Pack 4166 in Charles City rounded up non-perishable food items on Saturday morning as part of the national Scouting for Food campaign.

Many Cub Scout members, along with their parents, hopped into cars and picked up the bags of food that were left on the doorsteps of homes in Charles City. The parents then drove to Lincoln Elementary where the food was loaded into a trailer. The food was then dropped off at the Jordan River Food Bank.

Cubmaster Todd Prichard said Cub Scouts went to around 500 homes in Charles City on Monday to drop off leaflets and plastic bags to let homeowners know about the food drive. Prichard said his pack collected about 50 bags of food on Saturday.

“The food stays right here to help the local community at the food pantry. It’s literally going to be on the shelves this week now,” said Prichard.

Prichard said it took around an hour to stop at every home to pick up the bags.

“It rained earlier but the light sprinkles didn’t really slow things down,” he said.

Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts of America each participate in the national food drive every year that first began in 1985.

Prichard said there are about 40 Cub Scouts in his pack this year and many of the activities they will do in the coming months will be indoors.

Cub Scout members – who range in age from kindergarten through fifth grade – will compete in the raingutter regatta in November. That’s an event where Cub Scouts build their own sail boats and race them in a gutter.

The Pinewood Derby races will take place in January.

Prichard said Heidi Reams, with Floyd County Conservation, will teach Cub Scouts about wildlife and nature Monday (tonight) at 6 p.m. in the St. John Lutheran Church in Charles City.