Las Vegas Area Boy Scouts Gather Food to Feed the Hungry

LAS VEGAS - Nov. 3, 2014 - PRLog -- Members of Las Vegas Area Council, Boy Scouts of America, http://www.facebook.com/lasvegasareacouncil will hold their 26^th Scouting for Food Drive on Saturday, November 15, 2014.  This is the largest single-day food drive in Nevada, supporting the work of The Salvation Army and other area food banks.

“We hope to collect more than 200 tons of food in Southern Nevada so we can feed needy families throughout the winter and into the spring,” said Jim Ness, the chairman of the food drive.

Scouting for Food collects enough non-perishable food to feed tens of thousands of people.  For The Salvation Army, this drive alone provides between three and four months of food for their main pantry, which serves between 800 and 1,000 individuals and families weekly.  Food is also supplied to Henderson and Mesquite locations.  Community food banks in other outlying locations are also served by this endeavor.

“I think what Boy Scouts do for The Salvation Army and the families we serve is simply amazing,” said Major Kelly Pontsler, Clark County Commander for the organization.  “It is awesome that these young people work so hard to help our neighbors in need.”

Scouts will distribute more than 425,000 unfilled bags and 8,000 door hangers throughout the valley during the week leading up to the Saturday food drive.  They then will walk through neighborhoods on November 15, collecting filled bags of food, which are taken to 34 collection sites around the community.  Anderson Dairy and FedEx will deliver a majority of the packaged food to Three Square Food Bank for storage, while some will go directly to The Salvation Army’s Las Vegas and Henderson locations for immediate use.  Some will also be delivered to the smaller food banks in the outlying communities.

For the first time, Mary Vail, Publicist and Philanthropist, will be joining the effort, following 15 years of her “Make a Difference Day” Food Drive for the Salvation Army.  Ms. Vail brings her expertise in publicity and social media to support this wonderful enterprise.  To help raise awareness for the food drive, local Boy Scouts and The Salvation Army are encouraging community residents to post about Scouting for Food on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #lvscoutingforfood .

Visual and Photo Opportunities:  On Saturday, November, 15, between 2 and 4 PM at Smith’s Food and Drug, Rampart and West Lake Mead Boulevard, scouts will be dropping off food collected at the smaller sites and neighborhoods, sorting and boxing the food collected from the community, stacking the boxes on pallets and pallets loaded onto semis for transport.  There will be opportunities for interviews with scouts and event organizers as well as representatives from The Salvation Army.

About the Boy Scouts of America

The Boy Scouts of America provides the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training, which helps young people be “Prepared. For Life.®” The Scouting organization is composed of 2.6 million youth members between the ages of 7 and 21 and more than a million volunteers in local councils throughout the United States and its territories. For more information on the Boy Scouts of America, please visit www.scouting.org.

About The Salvation Army Southern Nevada

The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.

In Southern Nevada, The Salvation Army provides for homeless and unemployed, families in need through our Food Pantry and Family Services Office, people with addictions through our Adult Rehabilitation Program, after school and summer programming for children and much more. To make donations or volunteer, please visit salvationarmysouthernnevada.org or call 702-870-4430.