Modesto Scouts help fill food bank shelves

The Boy Scouts did a good deed Saturday, loading little red wagons and pickup beds with bags of groceries bound for the lean shelves of local food banks.

In Modesto, about 200 Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts participated in Scouting for Food, netting about 3 tons of groceries for Modesto’s Salvation Army food program, said Stephen Olson, senior district executive for Boy Scouts of America Greater Yosemite Council.

The haul was significantly larger than last year and came at a good time for the Salvation Army, where volunteers said the food bank was running low, he said. Other teams were collecting food in Ripon, Sonora, Oakdale, Turlock and elsewhere through the six-county council, which last year collected 15 tons of food for the needy.

The nationwide Scouting for Food drive helps instill the value of community service, Olson said. “The kids understand that people are hungry. They have more of an understanding than we think they do,” he said.

On Saturday morning in the La Loma neighborhood, Cub Scouts from Pack 14 waiting to start going door to door all said they understood hunger.

“I ate two bowls of cereal this morning – that’s hungry!” said Ryan Green, 10. Ryan and his fellow Cubs took off shortly after, walking the tree-lined streets while pulling a wagon filled over and over with paper grocery bags loaded with cans and cereal boxes.

“This is something I really love to do,” said Thomas Hill, 10.

“It is good exercise. I also like making stuff,” said Colby Gouker, 10.

Colby’s dad, Jack Biglow, said the real fun for him came when the boys got to see what all the Scouts were able to accomplish together. “When we go drop this off and they see the bins, it’ll just amaze them,” Biglow said.

“It’s a great cause. We feed hundreds of families every year,” said den leader Brian Hill, Thomas’ dad, walking with the boys. Other parents drove, leapfrogging between blocks to empty the wagons.

Jared Pitts and his roommate raced out with an armload of canned food when they saw the Scouts pass by. “We just wanted to help out. There was extra food,” Pitts said.

“I think it’s a good cause. It’s always nice to help somebody,” said bag contributor Rosalind Muncill.

The week before Saturday’s gathering, Scouts distributed about 4,000 bags, seeking donations throughout the Modesto area. Door-hangers asked for canned goods, peanut butter, breakfast foods and staples like powdered milk and pasta.

While the food will help out the community, their good deeds help the boys as well, said Dan Machado, who was a Cub Scout in Pack 14 as a boy and is now a Boy Scout leader. “Community service like this makes an impression on them early in life.”

This story was originally published November 15, 2014 at 8:13 PM with the headline "Modesto Scouts help fill food bank shelves."