Scouting for food to benefit Montgomery County Food Bank

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas – With nearly 75,000 food insecure residents per month in Montgomery County needing assistance — nearly 32,000 of those being children — the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts will be roaming the streets of Montgomery County on Saturday, February 6, collecting Scouting for Food donations to deliver to Montgomery County Food Bank (MCFB), to then be distributed to their community members in need.

As a boy scout’s foundational principle is to do good turns daily, scouts at all levels are encouraged to participate in service projects to pay it forward.

With scouts promising to “give goodwill” and “help other people at all times,” there is no better way to make a difference in fighting hunger by participating in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) annual Scouting for Food drive.

Scouting for Food, a decade’s long BSA service project to help the food insecure residents in communities all over the nation, is happening now, in partnership with Souper Bowl of Caring.

“We always have a good turnout for this event every year,” said Dennis Olheiser, Scouting for Food council chair for the Boy Scouts of America Sam Houston Area Council. “This year we have roughly 500 units in Houston and the surrounding areas that are going to be part of this food drive, along with roughly 15,000 volunteers that have committed to helping out.”

On Saturday, January 30, Boy Scouts placed door hangers and bags on neighboring doors announcing the upcoming food drive. Scouts will return this weekend to those same neighborhoods to pick up donated items from residents doorsteps and deliver those donations to MCFB, or a local food pantry of their choice, to support the hungry throughout the city. Donations may also be made directly to the MCFB warehouse located in Conroe or they can be delivered to Interfaith of the Woodlands, where MCFB trucks will be on sight to pick up donations from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and deliver them directly to MCFB’s warehouse.

“The best part about this event is that it spreads awareness that there is a need in our community,” said Olheiser. “Then, there is a willingness for people to participate knowing that any food they donate is going to a good cause.”

Going on six years of fighting hunger in the trenches during the SBC food drive, MCFB, with the help of local businesses, residents and organizations, like BSA, plan to raise more than $100,000 to help end hunger in Montgomery County.

The Souper Bowl of Caring, happening alongside the excitement of NFL Super Bowl nationwide, is an offering of cash and food items collected and donated through various SBC events. This youth-led movement takes place during the weeks leading up to the big game and involves over 6,000 national groups. Last year over 2.5 million meals were collected across Texas during this event.

During SBC, MCFB, along with local residents, organizations and businesses, work together to help fight against local hunger by offering the community a chance to purchase and donate canned goods and food, or by giving cash donations to the local food bank or food pantry.

Souper Bowl of Caring began Wednesday, January 20, and runs through Saturday, February 7. For more information on how to donate to MCFB through Souper Bowl of Caring, or to become a volunteer, visit www.mcfoodbank.org or call (936) 539-6686.

Created by a group of volunteers in 1985 to serve disadvantaged families in Montgomery County, MCFB distributed nearly 8.1 million pounds of food in 2015 to those in need.

As the county has grown, so has the need for the MCFB’s assistance. At conception MCFB was a door-to-door operation run out of car trunks. MCFB now distributes more than 6.6 million meals to more than 35,000 unduplicated low-income children, adults and seniors per year and works with 52 partner agencies throughout the county from its warehouse off of Texas 242, north of The Woodlands.

MCFB is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization chartered by the state of Texas and is a member of the Texas Food Bank Network and Feeding America.