Scouting For Food 2025

Scouting for Food is a nationwide initiative that brings Scouts into their communities to collect food donations for local food banks. Get your unit into your community this year to make a difference.

Why Participate?

Scouting for Food is a wonderful way to give back to your community and do a good turn. According to Hunger Free Washington, 1 in 6 children in Washington State a food insecure. There has been a steady increase in food bank utilization.  Every little bit helps those in need, and your efforts will make a big difference.

Here's how it works:

Step 1: Units pick up branded Scouting for Food grocery bags with instructions printed on them, and choose the community they would like to collect from.

Step 2: Units distribute empty, branded grocery bags to mailboxes or front doors in their chosen neighborhoods.

Step 3: One week later, Scouts return to the same neighborhoods to pick up any food left out in the bags. The bags will have instructions indicating that they'll be picked up the following Saturday.

Step 4: Units deliver the donated food to a community food bank of their choice. 

Units are also welcome to collect food in other ways they see fit! There are lots of ways to get donations, feel free to be creative! 

Donation Sites

Units are encouraged to donate to any food bank of their choice. If you need a suggestion and are in Rainier district, The Salvation Army is one option, and the details are listed below. If you need a suggestion and are in Olympic District, the Thurston County Food Bank is a great option. 

 

Salvation Army of Salvation Army of Puyallup- Ryan Miller- 907-632-2420. Food Bank Address: 4009 9th St. Sw, Puyallup WA 98373. Hours- Monday to Friday 9:00 AM- 3 PM 

Thurston County Food Bank- Anna-Min Kellogg- 360-352-8597 ( Please call and arrange drop off). Food Bank address: 2260 Mottman Rd SW Tumwater WA 98512. Food Bank hours: Monday to Friday 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM.

Before delivering your donations to any location, please confirm with your chosen site as they may have specific hours of operation. When delivering your donation, kindly ask for the total weight of the donated goods and report it back to the Council by April 7th using the form linked here: Scouting for Food Donation Report

Event Details

Bag Pickup: Units can pick up event bags at the Council office (Pacific Harbors Council Tacoma) from 9 AM to 5 PM, Monday through Friday, or at the Camp Thunderbird trading post or the Tacoma Council office.  Please call ahead to make sure the bags are available when you arrive. Pacific Harbors Council Tacoma: 253-682-2217 or Camp Thunderbird Trading Post: 360-918-0066.

If you need to arrange a different pickup time, please contact Rachael Weaver at rachael.weaver@scouting.org or 253-236-1384.

Distribution: Choose a Saturday in March to distribute bags to your desired community. Return to pick up donations the following Saturday. If your unit has another method of collection, feel free to use it!

Donation Locations: Donations can be made to any food bank or food distribution site your unit chooses.  When you drop off your donation, be sure to ask for the total weight of the items.

Report Your Donations: After collecting and delivering donations, please report your unit's total weight using the form provided. This will help us track progress and celebrate your efforts!

Participating in Scouting for Food outside this time window is okay! We still encourage you to report back to the council the impact that you have made! 

If you have any questions or need more information, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at rachael.weaver@scouting.org.

Hosted by: PHC, OLY, RAI