On Saturday, Scouts will Pay Visit to EG Homes in Advance of Next Weekend's "Scouting for Food" Drive

The Boy Scouts in Troop 1 and Troop 2 Narragansett will be fanning out across East Greenwich on Saturday armed with bags, reminders and a plan to “do a good turn” for hungry Rhode Islanders.

It marks the first lap of a massive food drive put on by the Boy Scouts that has annually collected tons and tons of food for the Rhode Island Community Food bank and area food pantries.

The scouts will be dropping off the reminders with plans to return on Sat. Nov. 1. In the meantime, your job is to fill those bags with nonperishable and unexpired canned goods, pasta, cereals, peanut butter and other items.

The project is known as “Scouting for Food” and in a typical year, local scouts collect between 5,000 and 7,000 pounds of food, according to Troop leaders.

It’s one of the more rewarding service projects undertaken by the Scouts. It earns them credit towards advancing the ranks, but it also teaches them the virtue of giving back to the community.

Richard Bourbonnais II and Lou Ragozzino of Troops 1 and 2 respectively said in a letter that the Scouting for Food tradition is “One of the most rewarding and meaningful Scouting service projects” and has “has been an important part of local Scouts’ lives for decades.”

The event has run for 27 years and more than 200 Cub Scout packs and Boy Scout troops across Rhode Island and southeastern Mass. take part.

The drive has become a vital lifeline for the food bank, which serves 63,000 Rhode Islanders a month, one third of which are children under 18. The annual event has become so successful, even the Rhode Island National Guard plays a quiet but important role by supplying several trucks and a crew to help route food collections to the food bank.

Last year, the Boy Scouts collected 231,000 pounds of food in total and they’re hoping to top that this year.

Photo Credit: Scouts sort through donations in 2013. Photo Courtesy Troop 2 East Greenwich