The Verona community has once again demonstrated its generosity by donating enough to provide Badger Prairie Needs Network (BPNN) with 20,000 meals during ‘Scouting for Food,’ an annual food drive hosted by the Glacier Edge Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
This year, Verona Cub Scout Troop 349 and Pack 549 collected both food and monetary donations at Miller and Sons Supermarket on March 9-10. Scouts took to social media to encourage people to support the food drive, Scouting for Food coordinator Emily Shunk told the Press via email.
A total of 77 Scouts and adults from Troop 349 and Pack 549, along with BPNN volunteers, collectively put in 118 hours for the food drive.
“The Scouts knocked it out of the park this year,” BPNN Communications Director Lisa Marshall wrote in an email to the Press. “They collected about 37% more food and cash donations than last spring. We are also deeply grateful to all the generous people who picked up a few extra items for BPNN while they shopped at Millers Supermarket.”
Following the two-day drive, Scouts took all food and cash donations to BPNN where they sorted and boxed donations, plus stocked shelves, for four hours. A total of 2,942 pounds of food was collected in addition to approximately $1,870 in monetary donations.
According to Shunk, the combined food and cash donations will provide BPNN with 20,500 meals – a 38% increase from last year’s Scouting for Food event.
“A heartfelt thank you and round of applause to all those who donated to Scouting for Food this year, Miller and Sons for hosting the donation site (and) the staff of Badger Prairie Needs Network for their tireless support of those in need of food, ” Shunk wrote in the email.
