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Scouting for Food begins Saturday

T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM The Emergency Food Box in Marshalltown puts together boxes of food for needy families. This box is intended for a family of three. The Food Box will also be the recipient of the annual Scouting for Food event which begins on Saturday.

The time of year has come when people see Boy Scouts out and about in Marshall County. Not because they are selling popcorn but because of the annual Scouting for Food which begins Saturday.

Residents can expect to find stickers on their front doors about the event.

“We are doing our best to arrest hunger in the mid-Iowa area,” said Tom McCoy, district chair of the Boy Scouts Prairie Winds District.

He said several hundred Boy Scouts and their leaders will participate in not only sticker placement but also standing in front of Hy-Vee from Saturday through Oct. 20.

This will be the 29th year for the event which collects non-perishable food and donates it to local food pantries. In Marshalltown, the Emergency Food Box will be the recipient of what local Scouts collect.

The Emergency Food Box provides food to people who meet the income qualifications. The food provided can canned goods, dried foods, meats and even fresh produce — all of which are donated.

This is not the first time the Emergency Food Box will be the recipient of the Scouting for Food event.

“We collected $2,000 in cash and gift cards and more than 7,200 items of food last year,” McCoy said. “People can donate cash or buy gift cards or bags of food at their local Hy-Vee store.”

Residents can also leave their donations on their doorstep the morning of Oct. 19, but not before 9 a.m.

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Contact Lana Bradstream

at 641-753-6611 or

lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.