Children collect donations for M.O.R.E. Center
By SARAH SUTSCHEK - ssutschek@nwherald.com
MARENGO – A pickup truck pulled up with a bed full of groceries, but there were no complaints about unloading it Saturday morning.
Children actually volunteered to help.
“Sweet, food,” 13-year-old Kent Ganvick said as he lined up his arms with tote bags full of nonperishables and carried them inside the Marengo area OutReach Enterprises Center.
Neither Ganvick, who was fulfilling a community service requirement for school, nor the other 165 children volunteering seemed to mind spending their Saturday morning collecting food for the Boy Scouts of America’s annual Scouting for Food event.
“It’s not bad at all,” Ganvick said. “We’re helping the less fortunate in our community.”
As part of Scouting for Food, which is a nationwide program, Scouts of Marengo dropped off more than 3,000 bags at homes last weekend. On Saturday, they made the rounds with their parents, picking up the bags that had been filled with food and personal items to be donated to the M.O.R.E. Center.
A room full of children separated and boxed the goods as they chattered, weaving around tables to get to the right one.
Where do canned mushrooms go? Put ’em with the vegetables. Olives? They can technically go on a relish tray, so with the condiments they go.
The M.O.R.E. Center provides food, emergency financial assistance, and small clothing and household items for those in need in Marengo and Union.
The organization served 123 families, or 431 people, during January and relies on the Scouting for Food program to provide about half the food needed for the entire year, Executive Director Bob Botts said.
“Our goal here is to keep people in their homes, and if we can help them with food, some clothing and small household items, these are things they don’t have to go out and buy,” Botts said. “We rely on the Boy Scouts very heavily for the food.”
They collected 14,500 items, totaling 11,790 pounds.
More than $1,800,
How to help
To donate to the M.O.R.E. Center, call 815-568-7950 or send a check to P.O. Box 32, Marengo, IL 60152.
