POCATELLO — Hundreds of Boy Scouts visited homes in the Pocatello/Chubbuck area last Saturday and collected over 18 tons of food to help local families in need.

    “It’s great to have this kind of community support,” said Warehouse Supervisor Joe Meyer with the Idaho Foodbank in Pocatello. “And to have the Scouts collect the donations, it really makes a huge difference.”

    The Oct. 19 food collection was the last event of the annual “Scouting for Food” drive organized and staffed by the Tendoy District of the Grand Teton Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

    The drive kicked off earlier in the week with distribution of door hangers to local residences reminding people to leave donations on their porches for pick-up.

    “It’s our biggest food drive of the year,” Meyer said. “It’s a great boost to stock up the pantries that we supply going into the holiday season.”

    According to Tendoy District Scout Professional Dan Deakin, this year’s effort netted 36,721 pounds of food. He estimated that quantity equals more than 43,450 food items, which is an increase compared to the 2012 drive.

    “We had 2,075 volunteers involved, which rounded out to about 4,150 man-hours,” Deakin said.

    Besides collecting food, a large number of Scouting volunteers also helped by directing traffic and sorting and receiving donations at the food bank.

    “Not only does the program go a long way towards feeding the hungry in our area, but the Scouts learn valuable lessons in performing a needed service for their communities. They definitely achieve a sense of pride in helping others,” said Brian Porter, Grand Teton Council Program and public relations director.

    Both Boy Scouts and Idaho Foodbank staff expressed deep gratitude to those members of our community who dipped into their personal stores to provide food items for those in need.

    “If people forgot to put a bag out or no one picked up their donation, we will still gladly accept their contribution at the Scout office,” said Deakin.

    The Tendoy District scout office is located at 3206 Pocatello Creek Road in Pocatello. For more information on Scouting for Food, or other scout programs in the area, contact dial (208) 233-4600.