Boy Scouts Go Door-to-Door to Collect Food for Bay Area Food Banks on Nov. 15

Nationwide food drive helps meet crucial need for Thanksgiving

San Jose, CA – November 10, 2014 -- One of the nation’s largest single-day food drives takes place Saturday, Nov. 15, 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. 15.

The Mt. Diablo Silverado Council, which encompasses the Contra Costa, Solano, Napa and parts of  Alameda counties, collected 136,000 pounds of food last 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 received a door-hanger promoting the drive on Saturday, Nov. 8. 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. 15 between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. at locations listed below or at www.bayareahunger.org.

 “Doing service in the community is an important part of being a Boy Scout.  Helping their hungry neighbors is what this ‘Good Turn’ is about,” said Larry Sly, executive director of Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano. “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.”

“Over the last 17 years local Scouts have collected over 2.8 Million pounds of food to help the needy in our community.  How did we do that? One can at a time...  What you might think is a little effort is really all the effort that is needed...if everyone does a little, together we can do a lot!” said Jim Mattson, Chairman of the local Scouting For Food drive.

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                                                                                                                      

Jim Mattson, Mt. Diablo Silverado Council
(925) 408-4065

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

SF-Marin Food Bank
Blain Johnson (415) 282-1900, ext 270 bjohnson@sfmfoodbank.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. 15), 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.

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

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

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.

MARIN COUNTY

Novato
SF-Marin Food Bank – Marin Warehouse
75 Digital Drive

San Rafael
Boy Scouts of America
225 West End Avenue

SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY 

San Francisco
SF-Marin Food Bank – San Francisco Warehouse
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.