Scouts collect a record amount during recent food drive

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NUTLEY, NJ — The recent food drive conducted by the Nutley Boy Scout Troop 147 and Cub Scout Packs 141 and 142 saw a record collection for the Nutley Food Pantry housed at the local Nutley Family Service Bureau office, formerly the Red Cross office, on Chestnut Street. As of this date, 22,425 food items were collected, up from the previous high of 17,510 collected last year. That amounts to a 34 percent increase. In 2013, the total was 10,653. The project in Nutley began in 2006, and 2007 is the first year of recording the totals, when 3,405 items were collected.

“This was an exhausting day, but a great way to teach the Scouts, especially the young Cub Scouts, the meaning of helping others,” said Walt Smith, Pack 141 chairman and chairman of the project. “After topping 13,000 food items in 2013, I thought we reached our maximum potential with last year’s incredible total of 17,475, but this year was amazing. The need this time of the year is especially great.

“We were able to reach this remarkable total because we now have more Scouts in Nutley than in previous years and a major effort was made to coordinate coverage of nearly all streets in town,” Smith said.

Boy Scout Troop 147 was led by Edward Greig with 603 items collected, followed by Anthony Gola with 558 and Jake Shoemaker and Suvan Bhat, both with 403.

The younger Cub Scouts were led by Phillip Szczechowicz of Pack 141 with a remarkable 998 items collected, followed by Billy Callahan with 400. Jeffrey and Jessie Quinn collected 480 items, while Simon and John Tevletidis added 411, Gabriel and Michael Vukosavovic added 405, and Ethan Cox collected 382. Alex Rodriguez led Pack 142 with 470 food items, followed by Joseph and Nicolas Del Tufo, brothers, with 478, while the Balou brothers were close behind with 447, and Vincent Fagioli added 363.

“One Nutley Boy Scout, Gabriel Camacho, now with Troop 36, collected 1,800 items for the second year in a row,” said Smith. “The efforts of individual Scouts has reached a whole new level. We are proud of every single Scout for their effort in helping our residents in need.”

“I want to congratulate each of the Boy Scout troops and Cub Scout packs for their leadership in organizing their respective group to make the project a tremendous success and to the Nutley Family Service Bureau volunteers for their valuable help at the pantry,” said Smith.

The organizing committee, in addition to Smith, included co-chairwomen Monica Suarez, Cheryl Jiosi, Joanne Gola, Chris Treglio and Maggie Callahan, and Eileen Painter, executive director of the Nutley Family Service Bureau. The campaign was launched on “Bag Distribution Day,” the weekend of March 18, when Scouts distribute bags to residences in Nutley. The Scouts return to residences on the following week, “Bag Collection Day,” to retrieve the bags filled with donated nonperishable items.

Within hours of the Scouts’ pickup, the donations were on delivery to the pantry at the Chestnut Street office of the Nutley Family Service Bureau, ready to feed the needy. Boy Scouts from Troop 147 coordinated the reception of food items at the building along with Painter and other volunteers and board members from the Nutley Family Service Bureau.

Scouts were also outside Nutley Park ShopRite on March 15 to accept donations from residents. More than 1,600 items were collected there. Trader Joe’s in Clifton was a key sponsor of the project, donating the 6,500 grocery bags the Scouts distributed throughout the town. The food pantry at the Family Service Bureau in Nutley is one of the largest in Essex County.

Scouting for Food is the nation’s largest single-day food drive. Scouting for Food began as a service project for the St. Louis Area Council in 1985 and was adopted by the national organization in 1988 when 1 million Scouts collected an estimated 65 million cans of nonperishable food. This year marks the 33rd year of this event.

Across the country, in many councils and districts, thousands of troops and packs with thousands of Scouts involved collect tens of millions of pounds of food which is distributed to needy neighbors. Scouting for Food is the nation’s largest one-day food drive, raising 30 percent of area food pantries’ yearly supply and feeding the hungry in the community for more than four months.

Every time a Cub Scout recites the Cub Scout pledge he promises to help others and in the Boy Scout Promise, a Boy Scout promises to help other people at all times. By participating in a Scouting for Food program, Scouts get a step closer to fulfilling those words.