Leave Your Canned, Boxed Food on Your Doorstep Saturday, Rochester

You may have noticed an empty plastic bag hanging from your front door or mailbox this week. 

It's part of the annual "Scouting for Food" initiative from the Boy Scouts of America; the scouts will pick up the filled bags of food beginning Saturday morning in Rochester and Rochester Hills.

Here's what you need to know — and how you can help if you didn't happen to get a bag.

• What's this all about? Scouting for Food is a southeast Michigan effort; scouts in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Monroe and Livingston counties participate. The donations support Gleaners.
• What to put in the bag? Boxed or canned goods only (peanut butter, tuna, soup, ravioli, beef stew, and other high-protein items, for example).
• What NOT to put in the bag? Anything perishable, frozen or in glass.
• When will the food be picked up? The bag collection begins at 9 a.m. Saturday and will continue throughout the day.
• How many will be collected? The goal is 800,000 bags of food.
• What happens if my bag isn't collected? The drop-off spot for Rochester and Rochester Hills is in the parking lot across from Rochester High School on Livernois. 
• How else can I help? Patch is participating in an online food drive to support Gleaners. You can buy anything from a box of granola bars to food for a family for a month by following this link.