Scouts fill thin reserves at food bank

The basement of the Church of the Nazarene in Grand Coulee was filled with help Saturday as local scouts hauled in the results of their annual food drive for the Care and Share Food Bank, an effort that restocked shelves that were getting empty.

Care and Share is currently serving around 130 local families, according to Director Carol Nordine, including many young families with children and working parents who find it hard to keep up.

About a dozen volunteers, plus the scouts, made fairly quick work of bringing in and stocking 1,856 pounds of food in the effort, which would have taken much longer had the scouts not stayed to help, Nordine said.

The scouts had taped notices at doorsteps all over the community two weekends before, asking people to donate food in a grocery bag, with instructions on the note as to what was needed.

Last Saturday, they picked up those filled bags. Cub Scouts from Pack 24 (K-5th grades) and Troops 24 and 52 (5th -12th grades) brought in 1,846 pounds of food. Most of the Scouts were able to stay and help sort and check expiration dates so it could get shelved, said Kim Stout, scoutmaster of Troop 52.

The nearly one ton of food replenished bare shelves while the food bank volunteers have been getting ready for their annual Thanksgiving season, which last year saw 255 boxes of food leave the facility, Nordine said. They're expecting more this year.

While the food bank focuses on opening up Fridays, offering canned vegetables and meat and non-perishable food items like Mac N'Cheese, a new effort is bringing in fresh food too.

In a partnership with Rural Resources, a truck of fresh fruits and vegetables will arrive at the food bank this Thursday, Nov. 21 from 11-1 p.m.

Everyone qualifies, no one is turned away in that effort, several people emphasized, which occurs the first and third Thursdays of each month.