TAMPA, Fla. – The Boy Scouts of America’s local Greater Tampa Bay Area Council held a record-shattering Scouting for Food drive in February, with scouts assembling over 50,000 pounds of food for pantries across their nine-county territory.
During the annual drive, youth are given the opportunity to choose which local food banks they wish to support within their communities. In 2021 scouts elected to support over 75 charities in the Tampa Bay Area, including Feeding Tampa Bay, ECHO, the St. Vincent De Paul Society and many more.
Scouting for Food typically sees scouts distribute door hangers throughout local neighborhoods, requesting that residents leave nonperishable food items on their doorsteps at a specified collection time. This year, some units even partnered with larger grocery stores to maximize their returns.
According to Jeremy Twachtman, who directed the Scouting for Food program in the Greater Tampa Bay Area Council, this is the second year in a row that their food drive has broken the previous record. Furthermore, Twachtman said he is awaiting additional reports from several units, so the total is likely to increase. So far, 114 units across the council have reported results amounting to 50,159 pounds.
Scouts from Troop 452 load a truck with food collected during the drive 
A cub scout pulls a wagon filled with food. 
Troop 462 poses with their collection after a successful drive.
“For context, we had 113 units and 37,082 pounds of food reported in 2020,” Twachtman said.
According to studies sponsored by Feeding America, the nine counties that the Greater Tampa Bay Area Council serves hold an average child food insecurity rate of 22%, and current events are believed to have exacerbated the crisis.
“Many of our scouts have never encountered being without food,” Twachtman said. “This gives them an opportunity to think beyond themselves and about families who do contend with food insecurity.”
As the council begins preparations for their 2022 Scouting for Food Drive, Twachtman said they are confident of another record breaking year. Given they have experienced two consecutive record-breaking years, he said that a collection of 100,000 pounds is probable within the next three years.
Pauline Zerbe, a member of the drive’s planning committee and civic service chairwoman for the Withlacoochee District, said she could not be prouder of local scouts. Withlacoochee District, which serves Hernando, Sumter and Citrus Counties, collected the most of any district, with over six tons raised.
“In the midst of a pandemic induced deficit at a majority of area food pantries, these scouts demonstrated duty and loyalty to serving the needs of others,” Zerbe said.
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