By Katie Harris

The Surveyor

The Berthoud scouting organization is preparing for its annual Scouting for Food collection this month to benefit Berthoud’s House of Neighborly Service. Local youth in Boy Scout Troop 6, Cub Scout Packs 6 and 387, and the Berthoud Service Unit of Girl Scouts will be going door-to-door collecting non-perishable food items on March 24.

Petra, Beau and Valin go door-to-door last year collecting non-perishable items for the annual Scouting for Food event. This year Boy Scout Troop 6, Cub Scout Packs 6 and 387, and the Berthoud Service Unit of the Girl Scouts will be collecting food items on March 24.

“The food the scouts bring in is a huge help for us in our Berthoud food pantry in order to provide the food that’s needed here in the community,” said Jinger Tomassi, Berthoud manager for House of Neighborly Service. The food bank, which has served Berthoud for 27 years, gave away over 21,000 pounds of food last year, 6,400 pounds of which came from the scouts.

Flyers will be distributed door-to-door throughout Berthoud in coming weeks with a list of acceptable food items, which includes canned fruits and vegetables, soups, dry cereals, pastas, toiletry items and more. Residents are encouraged to leave items for pick up in a visible area on their front porches on the morning of March 24, when scouts will make the rounds, picking up items and delivering them to the food bank.

“We’re going to be covering lots of new neighborhoods that have never seen us before,” said Scouting for Food organizer Jen Rotar. “We want people to keep an eye out for us because we’re going to try to hit all the new developments.”

While Scouting for Food is a national program, local scout groups choose when to collect food and where to donate based on the need in their community.

“We collect in the spring because that’s when our local food bank has more need,” said Rotar. “They receive more donations around the holidays, so we offset to meet the needs of our community.”

Rotar said the amount donated has gone up every year for the past three years. The goal this year is to collect at least 6,500 pounds of food.

“This year is kind of special because we have so many new people in town and because House of Neighborly Service moved from the Presbyterian Church to Grace Place last fall and has a lot of new volunteers,” said Rotar.

The food bank currently serves 193 Berthoud residents on Tuesdays from 9 a.m.-2 p.m., and is preparing to add extended hours on Thursdays from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. beginning April 5.

In addition to the over 100 scouts who will be collecting donations door-to-door on March 24, a group of Daisy Scouts will be outside Hays Market on collection day accepting donations in their collection barrel as well.

“The mission is for our scouts to engage in community service to help those in need in Berthoud and to give back to our community,” said Rotar.

For more information on the Scouting for Food effort, visit @berthoudscoutingforfood on Facebook. To learn more about House of Neighborly Service in Berthoud visit www.honservice.org.