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Boy Scouts collect over 1 million pounds of food for Utah Food Bank

Posted at 4:05 PM, Apr 16, 2012
and last updated 2012-04-16 21:37:35-04

SALT LAKE CITY -- The Utah Food Bank and Utah Boy Scout troops have wrapped up their 26th annual food drive after collecting a million and a half pounds of food.

Over March, the Boy Scouts have went door-to-door with donation bags and notices for residents asking for a food donation throughout the month of March.

The Utah Food Bank supplies a 135 different assistance agencies across the state. And for more than 20 years they have had help from the Boy Scouts.

With all that work to have the food donated, the food bank invited some of the scouts to see how it is distributed.

"These scouts go out in the neighborhood, they deliver bags, they pick up product. But until they come down here and do a tour in the food bank they don't understand how the food is processed and where it goes," says Utah Food Bank spokesperson Ginette Bott.

Boy Scout Jacob Rowley says he is happy to go out and ask for donations knowing that kids his age who are in need are getting wholesome food.

"I thought it was going to be in a little small building. It was this huge building with giant freezers, huge giant food compartments to hold the food for all the kids," said Rowley. "It kinda makes me joyful knowing I'm helping other kids enjoy meals that I always get and I think I take that for granted that I get meals so easily."

This year 30,000 Boy Scouts like Jacob helped out to bring in the 1.5 million pounds of food.

"We, as an organization, would not be able to canvass neighborhoods like the Scouts can," said Rowley.