Scouting for Food

Dear Scouting Leaders,

We’re excited to share an update on the Garden State Council’s signature service project, Scouting for Food. This campaign provides our Scouts with a tremendous opportunity to demonstrate service and care for others. Scouting for Food answers the call of food insecurity in our communities, as
together, we aim to collect over 100,000 pounds of food for those in need.

We extend our sincerest thanks to the Associated Builders and Contractors of
New Jersey for their generous support as the presenting sponsor for Scouting for Food. Thanks to their partnership with Scouting—now in its third year— the Council is providing to units, 100,000 reusable bags to distribute across the six counties served by the Garden State Council.

Due to an unexpected delay in delivery, the Council is expecting to receive the bags at the Rowan Scout Training Center on or around October 24.

To accommodate this, units may pick up bags on Saturday, November 1, from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM at the Rowan Scout Training Center or the Scout Shop at Cumberland Crossing in Millville. If that time does not work for your unit, please coordinate with your District Executive to make alternate arrangements.

Thank you for your help in executing Scouting for Food. This is the second largest food drive in our region, and our area food banks and pantries are looking forward to the service provided by our Scouts, as it makes a real difference in the fight against food insecurity.

If you have not yet ordered bags, please do so here: https://www.gardenstatescouting.org/service/scouting-for-food/

At the link, you will also find a leader’s guide. If on collection day, November 15th, you deliver your food to one of the volunteer-supported stations listed there, you will receive the 2025 Scouting for Food patches for your participating Scouts.

If you have any questions, please contact Preston Irving at preston.irving@scouting.org.

Yours in Scouting,

Garden State Council, Scouting America

The Scouting for Food Drive began as a National Good Turn in 1988 and the tradition continues every year at the Garden State Council!

The food drive, which collects non-perishable items, provides much-needed resources to help fight hunger in our communities. One out of five children and one out of every twelve households with seniors go hungry in New Jersey and an estimated 900,000 people rely on food banks just to survive.

All Scouting units are encouraged to participate in the annual Scouting for Food Drive community service initiative.

2025 Event Details

Scouting for Food is a 4-step process.

Step 1: Notify your community on the second Saturday of November using the Reusable Scouting for Food Bag we can supply to you. Request your bags using the “Order Reusable Scouting for Food Bag” button, below.

Step 2: Return to the same houses one week later and collect their donations.

Step 3: Deliver all non-expired donations to a food bank. Don’t have one nearby? Download the Leader’s Guide, which contains our list of nearby partner locations.

Step 4: Report your service using our form.

NEW Reusable Scouting for Food Bag Distribution: Nov. 8

Donation Collection: Nov. 15

Unit Leaders: Get this year’s Scouting for Food patch for your Scouts when you use one of our partner drop-off locations and report your results to Garden State Council representatives on-site!

Or, use your local food bank and submit your service results using our online form by midnight Monday, November 18 and patches will be available for pick-up.

Reporting Your Impact: Unit Leaders, click the button below to share your Scouting for Food success with Council. Remember that when reporting your volunteer hours, don’t do the math! Simply report the number of volunteers in each category and the number of hours your group spent on Scouting for Food. The Reporting Tool will do the math for you for total volunteer hours!

Our Food Bank Partners

Donated items can be given to your local food pantry, if you have one.

We are also working with the Food Bank of South Jersey and the Community Food Bank of New Jersey to provide drop-off locations throughout our Council area. These locations will be open with volunteers ready to accept your collected items on November 18. Download the Leaders’ Guide for locations.