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Girl Scouts help food pantries
Community service is a large part of scouting and the combined Granville Whitehall Girl Scout troop showed that off May 21 as they tried once again to ‘stuff-a-bus.’
In its fourth year, after starting in 2008, the Girl Scouts doggedly pursue their goal of filling up a full-sized 60-passenger Granville school bus.
Brownies and Girl Scouts flanked the doors to the Price Chopper, handing out lists or good items to donate and collecting donation from patrons as they exited the store. Others drove in to the parking lot and came straight to the bus to drop off food or make cash donations.
Organizer Diane Wescott said the Girl Scout’s goal is to collect non-perishable food items along with other essentials to help the food pantry during this time of high demand. Considering the local and national economy the demand on food pantries in Granville and Whitehall remains higher than any time in recent memory, officials said.
After some wet conditions early in the morning, the sun came out however people continued to come to the bus to drop items off, Wescott said. “It’s going well, really well everyone’s showing up for their shifts, some even came early and people are being really generous,” Wescott said.
Despite the impact the economy could be having on Price Chopper patrons, Wescott said people gave freely throughout the day.
By early in the afternoon, Wescott said she was prepared to call the event a success once again. “We’re on pace with other years,” she said.
Needed items which could be donated at any time, canned meats and chili, canned or boxed potatoes, rice and pasta products, mayonnaise, spaghetti sauce, canned fruits and vegetables, cereal, soups, canned juices, pudding, cake and frosting and Jell-O.
Also needed are non-food items such as paper towels, napkins, toilet paper, shampoo, deodorant, soap, toothpaste and toothbrushes.
Afterwards the Girl Scout take all of the items back to the food pantry located at St. Mary’s Church on Bulkley Avenue, unload the bus and stock the shelves with their collected goods. Previously, the more than eight hours of operation last year the bus took in more than 2,200 items as well as cash donations, Wescott said.
“It’s nice to see how generous people are to help out their community,” Wescott said.
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