Didn’t Get A Blue Bag?
Our Scouts try to cover as much ground as possible, but hitting every corner of our 63 county footprint can be tricky. From November 24th to December 1st, you can drop off your donations at area Lion’s Choice, Raising Cane’s, and Dierberg’s locations. You can also donate to a local food pantry near you!
Scroll Down for Unit Resources and The History of Scouting For Food
Scouting For Food is the Greater St. Louis Area Council’s one-of-a-kind day of service. Thousands of Scouts, parents, and leaders hit the streets on a Saturday in November to distribute blue bags to the homes in their area. Community members fill up those bags with non-perishable food items, and the Scouts return one week later to pick up those bags and distribute them to local food banks and pantries. On average, we collect almost 2 million food items each year.
2024 marks the Greater St. Louis Area Council’s 39th annual Scouting for Food Good Turn. During its 38-year history, Scouts have collected more than 54 million cans of food. The 2024 campaign begins on Saturday, November 16. Thousands of Scouts will go door-to-door distributing custom-made plastic grocery bags. On Saturday, November 23, Scouts return to those neighborhoods to collect the bags filled with canned goods. The timing of the campaign coincides with the spirit of giving and appreciation associated with the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday season.
Thank you to the 2024 Scouting for Food Sponsors:
Scouting For Food Resources
Drive Timeline
The Month of October
- Attend your district’s roundtable meeting to receive your unit’s territory map and allotment of SFF bags.
November 16th, 2024 – Bag Distribution Day
- Assemble with your Pack, Troop, or Crew at a pre-determined location. All Scouts should travel in groups of two or more (the Buddy System). Break up your assigned territory and hit the streets!
- Bags should be distributed to residences only, no businesses. Scouts should not enter apartment buildings. Scouts should not enter any homes and should not put the bags in mailboxes.
November 23rd, 2024 – Food Collection Day
- Please DO NOT begin collecting food before 10 am. This allows families time to place the food outside.
- Have your groups cover the same area where they distributed bags. This will minimize the risk of homes being missed.
- After thoroughly canvassing your assigned area take the collected items to your assigned drop-off location. Collection sites are open from 10:00 am to 4 pm.
- Please drive through your assigned area by car in the early afternoon to collect any bags missed during morning pick up.
A History of Scouting for Food
The First Scouting for Food
In preparation for the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the BSA in 1985, then Scout Executive and CEO Bob Meinholtz challenged his staff to develop a new and noteworthy program feature.
They seized upon the idea of a community-wide good turn to collect food for the needy. The council had never tried anything of this scope in the past, nor was it aware of any organization that had. Delivering collection bags to nearly every home in 11 counties and then collecting, compiling, and distributing an unknown amount of food seemed a daunting, perhaps impossible, task.
The initial success of Scouting for Food can be attributed to the leadership of Dennis Long and the Anheuser-Busch Company. They devoted considerable time and resources to making this ground-breaking idea a reality. Fire departments throughout the area enthusiastically came on board as collection sites, partner food pantries were identified, and the 892nd Transportation Company of the 102nd Army Reserve Command agreed to provide food transport through the St. Louis metropolitan area. That first year Scouts collected 750,000 cans of food.
A Legacy of Service
What was intended to be a one-time service project quickly became our hallmark. The council’s executive board determined that Scouting for Food is a perfect example of Scouting’s values and set about to make it an annual affair.
In 1989, with St. Louis as a model, the Boy Scouts of America adopted Scouting for Food as a national BSA program and encouraged every council to participate.
Scouting for Food has continued annually since its beginning in 1985 as a signature service event throughout the now 63 counties served by the Greater St. Louis Are Council. In 2019 the drive collected approximately 1.9 million food items.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic created a unique challenge to the drive, but Scouts were still able to make a big impact. Over $50,000 was raised via a text-to-give campaign, equalling approximately 200,000 meals provided to local families in need. We were also able to collect and donate over 145,000 food items to local pantries.
In 2022, 1,707,022 million items were collected!
