Every fall, local scouts from the Juniata Valley Council of Boy Scouts of America take to the neighborhoods of the region and ask people to donate food that will be distributed to people in need through local food banks and pantries.
The event has been a local scouting tradition since 1989, and it annually collects more than 24 tons of food for those in need in Blair, Centre, Huntingdon, Juniata and Mifflin counties.
This year, as many in the community continue to struggle due to the ongoing pandemic, scouts are hoping to collect as much food as possible for those in need as the holidays and cold weather draw near.
Over the weekend of Nov. 7-8, scouts left flyers on the doors of homes around the region asking people to participate. This Saturday, from 9 a.m. to noon, scouts will be back to pick up donations at those homes. In order to minimize contact, the scouts are asking residents to place non-perishable food items into a grocery bag or box and leave that bag or box on the front porch or near the mailbox in clear sight.
Suggested items include all types of canned goods and shelf-stable foods, such as vegetables, fruits, cereal, pasta, rice, protein beans, soup, tomato products, peanut butter and cake mixes.
After scouts pick up the donations, they will bring it to be collected by volunteers outside of the Nittany Mall on Saturday. The general public can drop off donations there as well.
More information can about donating can be found at www.jvcbsa.org.
