Just as Rotarians strive to follow their motto of “Service Above Self,” Scouts keep their promise “to help other people” and their slogan “Do a Good Turn Daily” through the annual Scouting for Food service project, which provides needed resources to our community food banks.
Over 10,000 Scouts in North Texas go door to door in the month of February, collecting non-perishable food items to help the less fortunate. These food donations go directly to The North Texas Food Bank or one of its more than 200 partner food pantries throughout North Texas, including The Salvation Army.
During the past 30 years, Scouting for Food has collected nearly 11 million cans of food for local food banks.
Health and Nutrition is one of our major avenues of service in Rotary, and this year Circle Ten Council is inviting Rotary Clubs and Rotarians in District 5810 to become partners in this high visibility project that has a significant impact in all of our local communities and neighborhoods. Rotary Clubs can collaborate with individual Scout Units or with larger Scout Districts in any way that the parties mutually desire. Rotary leaders and adult Scout leaders will have two opportunities to meet in November, as outlined below.
How it Works:
- In February 2019, while BSA celebrates its 109th birthday, Circle Ten Council’s youth and adult members within a 24-county territory will celebrate Good Turn Month. All 57,000 youth and 14,000 adult members of the Scouting family are encouraged to participate in a service project during the month.
- Over 1 million distinctive grocery style plastic bags will be printed for this food drive, listing the major participating organizations. Many Scouts will spend Saturday, February 16th, hanging bags on the doors in their neighborhoods, and then the following Saturday they will return to pick up the items left on the doorstep. Other areas use the trick-or-treat method, spending one day canvassing the neighborhood and asking for donations.
- Tom Thumb and Albertsons stores will have In-Store promotions and collect “virtual food donations” through the POS system at the cash registers. These donations are delivered to the Salvation Army.
- Steve Eager of Fox 4 News will again be asked to serve as the Honorary Chairman of the drive, and throughout the month public service announcements will be aired. In 2018, over 40 minutes of news coverage on KDFW Channel 4 was devoted to the Food Drive.
- For Rotary Clubs that have existing relationships with Scout Units, it will be simple to work out how a Club can collaborate on this food drive.
- If your Rotary Club does not already work with a Scout Unit, ask one of your club leaders to attend one of the Kickoff Meetings scheduled for November 27th and 28th, as outlined at the bottom of this page. Alternatively, you can reference the Map and the List of Scouting Professionals that serve various Scout Districts across North Texas. If you contact one of the Scout Professionals, he/she will assist you in linking up with a Scout Unit in your geographic area.
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