Boy Scouts collect over 1,000 food items from generous community
— Photo from Judy Seery
Masked heroes: On Halloween, Boy Scout Troop 264 collected food, toiletries, household items, and cash for the Altamont Community Food Pantry.
To the Editor:
On Saturday, Oct. 31, Boy Scout Troop 264 held its annual food drive to benefit the Altamont Community Food Pantry. Like most everything else these days, it looked a little different.
Instead of the Scouts going door-to-door collecting the bags of food donations and bringing them back to the food pantry to sort and box, people dropped off their donations outside of the pantry. Cars drove up to the parking lot of St. Lucy - St. Bernadette’s parish center where the food pantry is housed and the Scouts unloaded.
They did all sorting and boxing outside. Fortunately, the weather held out. It was a cool but sunny fall day.
The Altamont community certainly didn’t allow COVID-19 to prevent this annual drive from happening nor from being a success. Over 1,000 food items were collected as well as toiletry and household items and cash donations!
Everything will in turn be given back to the community, to those in need. The two biggest food drives each year for our food pantry have been the Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger drive in May and the Boy Scouts Scouting for Food campaign in the fall. Since the Letter Carriers’ drive did not happen this year due to COVID-19, the Boy Scouts food drive was especially needed and appreciated at this time.
Thank you to all the Scouts, their leaders, parents, and families for coming together and making this happen, especially with the challenge of the pandemic. Of course, it would not have been such a success without the willingness of so many in the community to come out as well, to generously donate and to pick up for others who could not come out themselves.
The desire to help our neighbors in need was clearly expressed in multiple ways. People have been extremely thoughtful, compassionate, and so very generous throughout this pandemic with their donations and offers of assistance to the food pantry.
The Altamont Community Food Pantry remains open but at this time is continuing to serve people by appointment on the first and third Monday and Tuesday of the month. Everything is done over the phone with pick-ups outside the building.
If you are in need of supplemental food assistance, please leave a message at 518-861-6542 and you will be contacted.
Judy Seery
Director
Altamont Community
Food Pantry
