Holmdel Cub Scouts Work To Combat Hunger

HOLMDEL, NJ — A local Cub Scouts pack recently donated the equivalent of over 1,000 meals to a regional food bank through their participation in the annual Scouting for Food drive.

A nationwide initiative where youth collect non-perishable food items from their communities to support local food pantries, the Scouting for Food drive is one of the largest annual food drives in the nation.

To help support their local communities, Holmdel Cub Scout Pack #131 worked with the drive to collect over 150 bags worth of non-perishable food in the two weeks before Thanksgiving.

The project got underway when the scouts distributed door hangers and reusable bags (many donated by Uncle Giuseppe’s Marketplace) to homes throughout town.

Later on, the scouts made sweeps of those neighborhoods to collect the items and sort the food at one of their pack meetings.

On Nov. 24, the scouts dropped off 1,467 pounds of food (or the equivalent of 1,223 meals) at Fulfill, a food bank that serves Monmouth and Ocean County residents.

According to Rachel Creel-McGuire, food drive organizer and den leader, the pack decided to participate in the drive to not only support county residents in need, but also in light of the recent government shutdown and the temporary halt of SNAP benefits.

“I just felt like it was such a positive, nourishing thing to do and for the kids, especially,” Creel-McGuire said. “The effort of the children engaging with their community is what really worked.”

Going forward, Creel-McGuire said the local Cub Scouts hope to make the food drive an annual project for their group and increase the amount they donate each year.

For more information about Cub Scouts in Holmdel, you can reach out to Cubmaster Nathan Schaffer at schafferBSA@gmail.com.