'Scouting For Food Drive' to be held Saturday in Manatee
MANATEE -- Oneco's 15-member Boy Scout of America Troop 10 will join troops nationwide Saturday in an effort to feed the hungry.
The troop, part of the Southwest Florida Council, will be picking up bags of non-perishable food by the front doors of roughly 1,000 homes in neighborhoods around the Wal-Mart on State Road 70 and U.S. Highway 301 beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday. They will take the food to Meals on Wheels Plus distribution center near Tropicana to be distributed to local agencies like church food banks.
Troop 10 is one of about 50 troops and packs in Manatee County taking part in the "Scouting For Food Drive," said Bowdie Williams, Troop 10's adult leader.
"The boys will learn that there are people who are less fortunate," said Williams, whose son, Dawson, 16, is a member of Troop 10.
The event, which is being held in cities across the United States, kicked off Feb. 20 when Dawson Williams and hundreds of other Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts placed door hangers on about 9,000 doors in Manatee and Sarasota county requesting residents to place a grocery bag outside their homes.
"I got to meet some of the homeowners and they said it is a really nice thing that we were helping," Dawson Williams said. "I think this teaches us the value of helping out."
The hanger suggested donations of canned or boxed soup, beef stew, chili, meats, vegetables, fruit, pasta or dry goods, Bowdie Williams said.
"Anything but frozen or glass goods," Bowdie Williams said.
"After we arrive at Meals on Wheels Plus, our boys will weigh the food, note how much we collect and sort it, box it and get it ready and available so that the distribution can distribute it to local agencies," Williams said.
For people who live elsewhere and would like to donate Saturday, Bowdie Williams will be setting up a food donation table in front of the former Kash N Karry Food Store behind the McDonalds Restaurant at 5133 33rd St. E., Bradenton from 8-10:30 a.m.
Richard Dymond, Herald reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7072 or contact him via Twitter@RichardDymond.
This story was originally published February 24, 2016 at 6:12 PM with the headline "'Scouting For Food Drive' to be held Saturday in Manatee ."