April 15, 2025
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Scouting for Food raises nearly $3K, collects thousands of food items for area pantries

St. Charles Three Fires Council partnered with nearly 20 food banks

By Brenda Schory
Colin Dugas of Cub Scout Pack 137 in Geneva, in front of his house where the Pack dropped off more than 600 pounds of food. The donations were given to St. Peter Food Pantry in Geneva as part of Three Fires Council Scouting for Food service project.

Colin Dugas of Cub Scout Pack 137 in Geneva, in front of his house where the Pack dropped off more than 600 pounds of food. The donations were given to St. Peter Food Pantry in Geneva as part of Three Fires Council Scouting for Food service project. (Provided by Sarah McGowan)

Scouting America Three Fires Council in St. Charles hosted an annual food drive in March, collecting 28,476 food items, enough to feed 250 families for one week, according to a news release.

Three Fires Council partnered with nearly 20 food banks in Kane, DuPage, Kendall and DeKalb counties.

Scouting for Food involved more than 60 Scout packs and troops and 600 youth who collected food, according to the release.

“In our council service area, roughly one in five people face food insecurity every day,” Three Fires Council Scouting for Food Chairman Keith Santini said in the release.

“In some areas of our council, that number is much higher,” Santini said in the release. “As a teacher, I see food insecurity every day in my students; that is why feeding the hungry has become such an important part of my life over the past few years.”

The scouts also raised $2,919 for the Northern Illinois Food Bank in Geneva and other local food pantries so the food bank can buy food in addition to what was collected, according to the release.

Scouts put door hangers on residential doors and then returned the next weekend to pick up food that was left out to be donated, Santini said.

Scouts also collected food at grocery stores such as Jewel and Caputo, he said.

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