Boy Scouts Go Door-to-Door to Collect Food for Bay Area Food Banks on Nov. 17

Nationwide food drive helps meet crucial need for Thanksgiving

One of the nation’s largest single-day food drives takes place Saturday, November 17, when Boy Scouts will go door-to-door collecting nonperishable food items for local food banks.

In the Bay Area, more than 40,000 Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, Venturers, Explorers and their supporters will be “Scouting For Food” by picking up boxed or bagged nonperishable food items placed on doorsteps by 9 a.m. Saturday, November 17. The Scouts’ goal is to collect 450,000 pounds of food this year in the Bay Area.

Residences on the Scouts’ collection routes will receive a door-hanger promoting the drive on Saturday, November 10. Residents who do not receive a door-hanger are not on a collection route, but they can still contribute by dropping off donations on November 17 between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. at locations listed below.

Scout troops, including the Piedmont Council, are also hosting online Virtual Food Drives to help raise money for food banks to purchase their most-needed food items.  

“We’re bracing for our busiest holiday season yet. Each month, hundreds of families are calling us for help for the very first time,” said Suzan Bateson, executive director of the Alameda County Community Food Bank. “Food banks rely on the Scouting for Food drive to provide healthy staples that will go directly to families for their Thanksgiving and holiday meals over the coming weeks.”

“We can take substantial steps toward ending hunger by working together,” said Tim Buchen of the San Francisco Bay Area Council of Boy Scouts of America. “But even with 40,000 Scouts on collection routes, we can’t hit every doorstep. So it’s critical that people help us out by dropping off food at their local site or participating in a Scout troop’s Virtual Food Drive.”

Whole Foods Market, Safeway, Lucky, Mi Pueblo Food Center and Berkeley Bowl locations throughout the Bay Area have in-store barrels to accept donations for Bay Area food banks throughout the holiday season.

ALAMEDA COUNTY (9)

Berkeley
St. Mary Magdalen School
2005 Berryman St.

Castro Valley
Proctor Elementary School
7520 Redwood Road
Fremont
Latter Day Saints Church
3551 Decoto Road
Hayward
Southland Mall
660 West Winton Ave. (Sears Auto Mall parking lot)
Livermore
Lucky Supermarket
2000 Portola Blvd.
Pleasanton
Walmart
4501 Rosewood Drive
Oakland
Alameda County Community Food Bank
7900 Edgewater Drive

Montclair Elementary School
1757 Mountain Blvd., south parking lot

Grocery Outlet
2900 Broadway
San Leandro
Boy Scout Office/Leadership Training Center
1001 Davis St.
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY (11)
Antioch
Antioch Latter Day Saints Church
3013 Rio Grande Drive

Antioch Latter Day Saints Stake Center
2350 Jeffery Way
Brentwood
Brentwood Latter Day Saints Church
1101 McClarren Road
Concord
Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano
4010 Nelson Ave.

Farm Bureau Hall
5554 Clayton Road

Oak Grove Latter Day Saints Church
2930 Treat Blvd.
Danville
Danville Latter Day Saints Stake Center
655 Old Orchard Drive
Discovery Bay
Fire Station #59
1685 Bixler Road

Richmond
Hilltop Latter Day Saints Church
4351 Hilltop Drive
Lafayette
Moraga Latter Day Saints Church
3776 Via Granada
Pleasant Hill
Pleasant Hill Latter Day Saints Church
555 Boyd Road

MARIN COUNTY (1)

NovatoMarin Food Bank
75 Digital Drive
San Rafael
Boy Scouts of America
225 West End Avenue

SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY (1)

San Francisco
San Francisco Food Bank
900 Pennsylvania Ave.


SANTA CLARA COUNTY (4)

Los Altos
Los Altos City Hall
One North San Antonio Road

Mountain View
El Camino Hospital
2500 Grant Road

Palo Alto
Latter Day Saints Church
3865 Middlefield Road

San Jose
Second Harvest Food Bank
750 Curtner Ave.


SAN MATEO COUNTY (1)

San Carlos
Second Harvest Food Bank
1051 Bing Street

SOLANO COUNTY (3)
Benicia
Benicia City Park
250 E. L St.

Fairfield
Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano
2339 Courage Drive, Suite F
Vallejo
Elks Lodge
2850 Redwood Parkway

NBC Bay Area Teams Up With Safeway for Annual Food Drive On Saturday, November 17

Kicking off a month-long local effort to fight hunger, NBC Bay Area is once again partnering with Safeway Stores for a one-day food drive on Saturday, November 17 to benefit Bay Area Food Banks, a collaboration of eight food banks serving over 600,000 local residents each month. The “End Hunger Now” food drive will take place at 165 Safeway locations throughout the Bay Area making it easy for community members to participate and help feed their neighbors in need.    

“We are proud to support our local food banks and bring much needed attention to hunger in the Bay Area,” said Rich Cerussi, NBC Bay Area President and General Manager. “We welcome the opportunity to inspire viewers to donate during the holidays and throughout the entire year.”

“We thank NBC Bay Area and Safeway for bringing attention to the severity of local hunger and for creating a simple way for anyone in our community to help a family in need,” said Kathy Jackson, Second Harvest Food Bank CEO. “Bay Area Food Banks are feeding people in every neighborhood and through this drive you can donate to make a difference in the lives of people where you live.”

For the last three years, NBC Bay Area has partnered with Safeway to help stock the shelves of local food banks. In addition to providing on air promotion, the station will be enlisting hundreds of volunteers on Saturday to encourage shoppers to donate food items, including NBC Bay Area anchors and reporters, who will be helping out at their neighborhood Safeway stores. Individuals interested in volunteering to collect food at a local Safeway on November 17, can visit www.bayareaproud.com to register.

To make the donation process easier, a specially produced shopping bag filled with items that food banks need the most will be available for $10 at all local Safeway stores. These bags include items such as rice, stuffing, canned vegetables and cranberry sauce. Once collected, the bags will be delivered to food banks. The bags will be available for purchase from November 14 through December 25.

“We are proud to be partnering with our area food banks and these important volunteer organizations on this community-wide collection effort,” said Karl Schroeder, President of Safeway Northern California.  “Assisting people who need a helping hand during the holidays and throughout the year is an important part of Safeway’s giving programs.” 

Last year, the food drive collected a total of 58,000 bags of food during the month long effort, nearly double the goal.

Additionally, food banks across the nation have the chance to earn a financial donation from Kraft Foods. The food bank with the most donated bags per 100 shopper transactions will receive a donation, which can be used to purchase additional food. 

About NBC Owned Television Stations

NBC Owned Television Stations is the division of NBCUniversal that includes 10 local television stations and their digital channels and websites, as well as a group of out-of-home properties and a production company.  The 10 stations produce and deliver compelling and unique local news, information and entertainment programming to viewers in the communities they serve, which include New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area, Dallas-Fort Worth, Washington, D.C., Miami, San Diego and Connecticut, with a goal of connecting to their audiences anytime and anywhere.

About Safeway

Safeway Inc. is a Fortune 100 company and one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America, based on sales. The company operates 1,687 stores in the United States and western Canada and had annual sales of $41.1 billion in 2010. The company's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SWY.

About Bay Area Food Banks:

Bay Area Food Banks is a collaboration of eight local food banks  that serve more than 600,000 people in 11 northern California counties each month. Through 1,560 food pantries, children's programs, shelters, soup kitchens, residential programs, and other emergency food providers, Bay Area Food Banks distributes 142 million pounds of food each year. With respect and compassion, the Food Banks serve anyone in need.

MEDIA CONTACTS

NBC Bay Area – Liza Catalan

(408) 432-4302 liza.catalan@nbcuni.com

Safeway- Wendy Gutshall

(925) 467-3523 wendy.gutshall@safeway.com

Alameda County Community Food Bank – Michael Altfest

(510) 636-3663, ext. 330. maltfest@accfb.org

Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano – Lisa Sherrill

(925) 676-7543, ext. 206. lsherrill@foodbankccs.org

Redwood Empire Food Bank (Sonoma County) – Lee Bickley

(707) 523-7900, ext 15. lbickley@refb.org

San Francisco Food Bank & Marin Food Bank – Stacy Newman

(415) 282-1900, ext 270. snewman@sffb.org

Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties – Caitlin Kerk

(408) 266-8866, ext 368. ckerk@shfb.org