Above: Southborough Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts will team up again with BSA Scouts for their annual Scouting for Food program in November. (images from flyer and photo by Susan Fitzgerald)
I’m posting today to remind readers who do their grocery shopping on the weekend — the annual town-wide collection drive to support the Southborough Food Pantry is on Saturday, November 8th. Given the issues with SNAP benefit funding potentially lapsing, this comes at a time when pantry clients may be especially in need of support, placing a bigger burden on the pantry.
This weekend, Scouts/volunteers will be hanging bags with flyers on doorknobs in neighborhoods all over town.
The community is encouraged to fill those bags with food donations, and place them next to their mailboxes on the morning of Saturday, November 8th before 9:00 am. That’s when volunteers will be making the rounds to scout out and pick up the donations.
Volunteers won’t necessarily get to every door. So, I’m also encouraging readers to spread the word. If you don’t get a bag at your home, you can still participate by dropping off items at Pilgrim Church between 9:00 am – 12:00 pm on the 8th.
As always, please double check the expiration dates before donating items!
The collection drive flyer promotes that the pantry’s needs include the following items:
sugar
olive oil
Ritz crackers
cake & brownie mix
Dinty Moore beef stew
canned meats (chicken, spam)
paper products (paper towels, tissues, toilet paper)
solid white tuna
minced clams
baked beans
canned beans (black, red, white)
plastic bags (snack, sandwich, quart, gallon)
corned beef hash
cranberry juice & V8
Capri Sun
pickles, relish, olives
ketchup, mayo
barbecue sauce
coffee (regular, decaf, instant)
all-purpose cleaner
liquid hand soap
laundry & dish detergent
plastic wrap, aluminum foil
grocery store gift cards
Please remember to check the expiration dates before you donate. (Also, note that while it’s fine to donate multi-packs, please don’t donate jumbo/commercial-sized items, like giant jars.)
You can also support the drive by making a direct donation here.
Halloween falls on the night prior to bags being distributed (which is when routes are normally given out). So, Scout families looking to volunteer, who didn’t already pick up their routes and bags last night, can head to Pilgrim Church this Saturday, November 1st from 8:00 – 10:00 am. Bags should be hung on doorknobs (not on or in mailboxes) during the day (not after dark).
