Philadelphia Scouts collect thousand of pounds of food

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- An annual food drive help collect hundreds of thousands of pounds of food for the Delaware Valley.

The annual "Scouting for Food" drive was held across Philadelphia, Montgomery, and Delaware Counties Saturday. The drive, which is organized by Scouting America, encourages neighbors to donate non-perishable food items to be donated to food banks.

"We count up everything inside the bag and record it down," explained 16 year old Anthony Bondi. He and his fellow scouts sorted through nearly six thousand pounds of food at St. Christopher's in Somerton.

"It's important that everybody is able to have a happy Thanksgiving, happy holidays," he said.

"This is a nationwide project, Scouting for Food, the same concept everywhere," said Matthew Cronin, the committee chair for the troop.

It's a concept particularly important in Philadelphia, where one in four children face food insecurity, according to Scouting America.

"I think people are realizing that there's a lot of need this year and they're coming through," said Matthew.

In order to collect all of this food, the scouts had to first reach out to the community. They put nearly 300 thousand door hangers on homes across Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties. And the response was overwhelming)

"This is one of the coverage areas," said Matthew.. "It will translate int 550,000 pounds in total."

Most of this food will go to Philabundance. Anthony says he's proud the food will go to help his neighbors.

"I hope this inspires more people, more youth, to join programs like Scouting for America and give back to their community. Especially in these times. People really need it," he said.

The parade also offers spectators a chance to support the 6abc Dunkin' holiday food drive. Parade goers are invited to bring a few canned goods to pass to the Scouts, who will be collecting donations along the parade route. This is a chance to give back and help fight hunger around the region.