Boy Scouts Go Door-to-Door to Collect Food for Bay Area Food Banks on Nov. 16

Nationwide food drive helps meet crucial need for Thanksgiving

One of the nation’s largest single-day food drives takes place Saturday, Nov. 16, when Boy Scouts will go door-to-door collecting nonperishable food items for local food banks.

In the Bay Area, more than 30,000 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, Nov. 16.

The San Francisco Bay Area Council, which encompasses the City of San Francisco and the County of Alameda, collected 148,000 pounds of food last year. The Council’s goal is to collect 160,000 pounds of food this year. Other Boy Scout Councils of the Greater Bay Area will also be participating in the drive resulting in approximately 500,000 pounds of food being collected.

Residences on the Scouts’ collection routes will receive a door-hanger promoting the drive this Saturday, Nov. 9. Residents who do not receive a door-hanger are not on a collection route, but they can still contribute by dropping off donations on Nov. 16 between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. at locations listed below or at www.bayareahunger.org.

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

Community Need Greater Than Ever

“The need in our communities is as great as ever. With cuts in SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, we expect to see new families turning to food banks for help,” said Paul Ash, executive director of the San Francisco and Marin Food Banks. “Food banks rely on the Scouting for Food drive to provide healthy staples and much welcomed variety that will go directly to families during the holidays.”

Tim Buchen of the San Francisco Bay Area Council of Boy Scouts of America says working together as a community is one step Bay Area residents can take toward ending hunger.

“There’s always a great need to feed the hungry and we feel that food donation to the community can help accomplish that,” Buchen says. “One of the key components of the Boy Scouts is to a good turn, and the Scouting for Food drive is truly an opportunity for kids to help others.”

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

Boy Scouts Contact                                                                                                                      
Tim Buchen, San Francisco Bay Area Council, Boy Scouts of America
(510) 577-9000 x 207 tim.buchen@scouting.org 

Food Bank Contacts

Alameda County Community Food Bank
Michael Altfest (510) 684-8655 maltfest@accfb.org

Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano
Lisa Sherrill (925) 408-7655 lsherrill@foodbankccs.org

San Francisco and Marin Food Banks
Blain Johnson (415) 282-1900, ext 270 bjohnson@sffb.org

Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties
Caitlin Kerk (408) 858-9208 ckerk@shfb.org

Note to media: Feel free to list any of the Scouting for Food drop-off sites on Saturday (Nov. 16), listed below, in your coverage area (sites are also listed on www.bayareahunger.org). Site hours differ, but 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. is generally accurate. For coverage purposes, these sites provide great visuals and interviews. All Bay Area Food Banks will be open on Saturday afternoon to receive and sort truck shipments from Scouting for Food collections sites.

ALAMEDA COUNTY

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
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

Novato
Marin Food Bank
75 Digital Drive

San Rafael

Boy Scouts of America

225 West End Avenue

SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY
San Francisco
San Francisco Food Bank
900 Pennsylvania Ave.

SANTA CLARA COUNTY

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

San Carlos

Second Harvest Food Bank

1051 Bing Street

Half Moon Bay

Coastside Hope

214 Harvard Ave.

Pacifica

Pacifica Resource Center

1809 Palmetto Ave.

South San Francisco

SSF Citadel Corps Community Center/Salvation Army

409 S. Spruce St.

SOLANO COUNTY
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