Hunterdon County scouts collected 30,000 pounds of food for area food pantries.
Over 500 Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, siblings and adults from 36 units in the Hunterdon Arrowhead District ventured out Feb. 20 to 20 area grocery stores in Hunterdon, Warren, Morris, Mercer and Somerset counties to collect food for 10 area food pantries.
This is the third annual winter food drive for the district.
In 2015, 24 units combined at 19 stores to collect almost 25,000 pounds of food. This year's number exceeded 30,000 pounds of food. The scouts also managed to donate over $1,920 in cash or store cards across several of the pantries.
"This year the goal was to collect a similar quantity of non-perishables across the county -- a goal that was far exceeded by the generosity of shoppers," said Doug Walker, Cub Scout Activities chairperson for the Hunterdon Arrowhead District.
Each food pantry was grateful for the public's generosity, Walker added.
Scouts collect thousands of pounds of food
"The weather was unseasonably warm and it definitely helped area shoppers share their own warmth with countless examples of the community coming together to help neighbors who are experiencing food insecurity," Walker said.
A special thanks was given by Walker to all of the store managers and office staff who either agreed to allow scouts at their store to collect or made direct store card donations for the scouts to use to buy non-perishables. "Without you this event would still be just an idea," he said.
Additional thanks were given to Anne Marie Pepper of the Washington Crossing Council office for preparing 20 certificates of insurance to cover the scouts at each of the store locations, Walker said.
Though this food drive was again coordinated by Walker, it was made into a success because several hundred scouts and scouters took time out of their weekend to support this event, he said.
Walker also thanked each shopper who took a few moments to listen to a scout at their local grocery store and then make a donation to someone they will likely never meet.
"Winston Churchill once stated, 'We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give,'" he said. "There was a whole lot of life being given that beautiful Saturday in February."
With the closure of all local A&P stores, four new grocery stores stepped up to help out with the 2016 collection efforts. These stores included the Stop & Shop in Pennington, the Frenchtown Market, ShopRite in Branchburg and ShopRite in Chester. Their willingness to participate in this event contributed greatly to the success of the collection efforts.
February is a challenging month for donations at local food pantries, so the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts of Hunterdon County all worked together to collect food and distribute it to food pantries local to the collection sites.
Collection locations included every grocery store within the county, as well as some stores along the county borders. Of the 20 participating stores, 14 allowed scouts to collect directly, one collected on behalf of the scouts and five made store card donations for the scouts to use to buy food for the area pantries.
Flemington Walmart, Whitehouse Walmart, Greenwich Target and Phillipsburg Stop & Shop all contributed gift cards that allowed scouts to purchase just over 200 pounds of non-perishables.
Troop 49 from Lambertville covered the ShopRite in Pennington and collected more than 1,500 pounds of food for the Lambertville Food Pantry. The participating scouts at this location were led by Scoutmaster Brian Claus, Beth Bauer, Terry Rice, Beth Hagman, Kim Geis, Tim Davis and Tom Emge, and included Ryan Barrett, Alex Bauer, Bailey Claus, Seth Geis, Jimmy Hagman, Sam Davis, Aidan Rice, Scott McCloughan and Trevor McCloughan. The collection efforts were a 25-percent increase over the 2015 total.
Pack 32 from Lambertville and Troop 65 of Ringoes gathered at the Stop & Shop in Pennington and collected over 2,100 pounds of non-perishables that included a very welcome donation of goods from the store management.
The participating scouts from Troop 65 were led by Anthony Lorenzoni, and included Shayne Lorenzoni, Logan Lorenzoni, Seth Gould, Avery Gould, Jason Mundy, Brandon Diacont, Vincent Colallilo, Lucas Musto, Charles Vernon, and Daniel Ingersoll as well as Adam Hahn from Troop 61 and Girl Scout Emma Hahn. Pack 32 Scouts included Kyle Ingersoll, Robert Laube and Kyle Daly and were led by Ward Ingersoll.
In Frenchtown, Troop 251 turned out at the Frenchtown Market to collect over 400 pounds of food and more than $400 in cash donations. The food was split between the food pantry at the Frenchtown Presbyterian Church and the Flemington Food Pantry only after the shelves at the Church pantry were filled to capacity. The collected cash was given to the Church where it will be earmarked for pantry replenishment items in the future.
The scouts from Troop 251 were led by Vince Fusciardi, Craig Norgard, Tom Proctor, David Boyle, Gary Karlsrud, Alex Nedoszytko, Susan Riggio, Michael Swanson and Susan McGreevy and included Bob Boyle, Mason Forringer, Jacob Forringer, Vincent Fusciardi, Jaden Karlsrud, Ethan Liebross, Alex Nedoszytko, Steven Nedoszytko, Jake Norgard, Quinn McGreevy, Owen Proctor, Ian Proctor, Bruce Riggio and Ronan Swanson.
Pack 61 of Flemington teamed up with Troop 62 of Flemington and Pack and Troop 108, both from Quakertown to cover the Flemington Stop & Shop. Their combined efforts brought in over 1,800 pounds of food for the Flemington Food pantry.
Scouts from Pack 61 were led by Cubmaster Chris Runk, Don Apanovitch, Chris Boyce, Tony Gillespie, Lindsey Groves, Michelle Hilke and Bill & Cindy Lovett. The Scouts included Peter Apanovitch, William Boyce, Zachary Gillespie, William Groves, Andrew Hilke, Sebastian Lovett-Marion, Zachary Lovett-Marion, Connor Runk and Michael Hand.
Scouts from Troop 62 were led by Scoutmaster John Curtin, Ed Chernesky, Sherri Suozzo, Chris Boyce, Don Devine, April Kopp and Tracy MacDonald and included Toby Chernesky, Owen Suozzo, Riley Boyce, Brandon Kopp and Stephen MacDonald.
Additionally some Troop 62 scouts were at another Scouting event and contributed non-perishables in advance of the event.
These scouts included Jack Reagan, Andrew Cheney, Stephen Cheney, Andrew Tyson, Daniel Bergamo, Matt Fleisher, Evan Fleisher, Andrew Galloway, Owen Suozzo, Alex Mooney, Bryant Hall, Doug Kuras, and AJ Kuras. Pack 108 Scouts were led by Scott Turek and included Gavin Jordan, Kevin York, Scott Turek, Tyler Turek, Ben Huebscher and Josh Evans.
Hunterdon scouts help provide food to those in need | Letter
Troop 108 scouts were headed up by Charlie McBride, Assistant Scoutmaster Fisher, Assistant Scoutmaster Mortensen and Mrs. Iannozzi and included O. Fisher, N. Fisher, Iannozzi and Mortensen. Matthew Runk of Troop 194 also helped in the collection efforts at the Flemington Stop & Shop.
Pack and Troop 194, both of Flemington, covered the ShopRite in Flemington and collected an astonishing 3,600 pounds of food for the Flemington Food Pantry. This collection total was over a 250-percent increase over the amount brought in during the 2015 drive.
The boys were led by Rick Rainey and Mike Degan and included Pack 194 Cub Scouts Tristen Fleck, Thomas Spidare, Bennett Mileto, Michael Saus, Jason Snyder, David Berger, Nathan Allen, Andrew Devine, Garin Kurz, Hayden Kurz and Holden Hoops as well as Mikey Hand from Pack 61. Boy Scouts from Troop 194 included Zack Guzman, Matt Hand, Ben Hansen, John Harwell, Conor Allen, Daniel Bindas and Takshil Chituluru.
Pack and Troop 401 of Clinton worked with Ebony Wynn of BJs Wholesale Club in Flemington to bring 600 pounds of food to the Flemington Food Pantry. The collection efforts were led by BJs Wholesale Club and the donated goods were taken to the pantry by Troop 401 leader Leslie Chernykh and her sons Ilya Chernykh of Troop 401 and Anton Chernykh of Pack 401.
Pack 182 of Three Bridges also took advantage of store card donations from Wegman's in Bridgewater and the scouts were able to purchase 155 pounds of food for donation at the Starfish Food Pantry in Whitehouse. The boys who helped purchase the food were led by Robert Betterman and Paul Hample and included John Betterman and Ryan and Jake Hample.
Pack 1980 in Readington Township pulled covered Bishop's Supermarket in Whitehouse and were led by Cindy Barckholtz, Jared Beatrice, Karen Ippolito, Dan McDonald, Vickie Szymanski, Jay Wieder, Scott Wootton and Shannon Wootton. The Scouts who volunteered included Raul Aramburo, Michael Barckholtz, Zachary Barckholtz, Jake Beatrice, Cole Costigan, Jack Heppner, Cameron Hess, Andrew Ippolito, Jack Ippolito, Christian Lechner, Chase Martoccia, Josh McDonald, Conor Mikaelian, Jacob Ross, Tyler Rossi, Daniel Szymanski, Luke Szymanski, Colin Watson, Chase Wieder, Eric Wootton and Marc Wootton.
At Kings Supermarket, Troop 186 of Three Bridges combined efforts with Troop 119 of Pittstown in their collection efforts. Scouts from Troop 186 were led by Stephen Nees and included Kyle Barrett, Daniel Trivino, Joe O'Brien, Justin Carten, Jack Deighan, Aidan Beardsley, Ben Melanson, Thomas Nees, Michael Miglliorino, Carter Risse and Jared Van Veldhuisen.
Scouts from Troop 119 were led by Michael Fariello, Brian O'Rourke, Jennifer Sigler, Jay Smythe and Don Bernick and included Jon Fariello, Jack O'Rourke, Patrick O'Rourke, Rob Sigler, John Ignacz, Tommy Evers, Joey Benco, Patrick Smythe and Luke Bernick.
The Branchburg ShopRite was covered by Scouts and Scouters from Pack and Troop 199, both from Oldwick and Troop 1969 from Stanton. Pack 199 Scouts included Trey Dornbusch and Garrett Villamaria.
Troop 199 scouts included Liam Anderson (Scout-in-charge), Thomas Anderson (Scout-in-charge), Andrew Fabiano, Michael Fabiano, Thomas Larsen, John Newell, Matt Nowell, Preston Reep, Chris Sernas, Nick Venito, Harrison Villamaria, Michael Villamaria and Ryan Villamaria. The Pack and Troop 199 Scouts were led by Meghan Anderson (Adult-in-charge), Paul Fabiano (Scoutmaster), Lori Larsen, Marie Newell, Lisa Nowell, Scott Reep and Eddie Villamaria (Cubmaster).
Troop 1969 scouts were led by Cindy Barckholtz, Assistant Scoutmaster Tim Barckholtz and Kelly Watson and included Daniel Barckholtz and Aiden Watson.
The scouts collecting food at Bishops Market, Kings Supermarket and the Branchburg ShopRite combined to deliver 3,700 pounds of food and over $665 in cash to the Starfish Food Pantry in Whitehouse.
The amount of food collected was an increase of over 270-percent from the 2015 totals. Volunteers from the Starfish Pantry indicated that the volume received would be enough to carry the pantry through at least their next three distribution cycles.
In Clinton, Troop 288 of Annandale, Pack 190 of Clinton and Pack 118 of Clinton covered the Clinton Shoprite. The scouts collected 3,133 pounds of food, representing an uptick in almost 400 pounds over the 2015 collection. The food was dropped off at the Open Cupboard Pantry in Clinton.
The youth from Troop 288 were led by Scoutmaster Chris Neighbor, Barbara Vogel, Todd Zahn, Joe Smith, Mark Sieber, and Andrea Matthews and included Alistair Wilson, Cameron Zahn, Brendan Mahaney, Harrison Sieber, Carter Beswick, Kyle Piekarski, Jason Strauss, Aaron Willsey and Jacob Willsey.
Pack 190 scouts were led by Randy Zahorchak, Sue Ann Robinson, Bryan Slota, Steven Kallesser, Doug Gartrell, Jim Zalasny, Pam Beswick and Douglas Hansen and included Tommy Zahorchak, Roman Carlise, John Robinson, Alex Beswick, Eric Beswick, Ethan Slota, Luke Slota, Shay Corrigan, Douglas Hansen, Jake Zolad, Antonio Kallesser, Elias Wysong, Ron Wysong, Ben Gartrell, Luke Charbonneau, Marshall Nance, Rocco Palestina, Jaxon Garner, John Martoccia, Peter Zawadzki, Evan Giannini, Abraham Roshan, Nicholas Fromosky, Steve Fromosky and Jake Zelasny.
Pack 118 scouts were led by Jeffrey Lutz and included Cameron Lutz, Nick Casalins, Jeff Casalins, Shane Pierson, Liam Kyte, Grayson Kyte and Daniel Tsukroff.
Scouts from Pack 901 of Clinton Township, Troop 200 of Annandale and Troop 121 of Clinton worked together and collected food at the Clinton Walmart and took in 1,758 pounds. The food was also dropped at the Open Cupboard Pantry in Clinton.
The youth from Pack 901 who volunteered were led by Susan Sokolowski, Beth Rogers, Jeff Smith, Sue DaCosta, Davida Sales, Karen Sauers, Janell and Mark Bunger-Spiecha, Tom Haluska, Carol Sondhi, Nicole Couselo, Colin Brown, Mr. and Mrs. Patel. Scouts from Pack 901 included Eric Sokolowski , Lee Rogers, Paul Smith, Mitchell DaCosta, Alexander Sales, Tommy Sauers, Adam Bunger-Spiecha, Nathan Haluska, Sohan Sondhi, Nathan Couselo, Lucio Couselo, Taylor Brown, Deep Patel. The Scouts received an assist from sibling Nina Couselo.
25K in food collected by scouts in 2015
Scouts from Troop 200 included Luke Marosy and Ethan Lutz. They were led Mike Marosy.
Scouts from Troop 121 included Bobby Weurthner, Collin Keith, Tyler Barry and Cayden Schwierk. The Scouts were led by Paul and Tracy Schwierk as well as Jen and Bob Weurthner.
Pack and Troop 187 of Holland Township covered the Walmart in Phillipsburg. Their scouts were able to collect 1,800 pounds of food for the pantry at the River of Life Church in Phillipsburg, as well as the $50.00 in cash donated received during the collection time. This was more than 1,600 pounds greater than the collection from the same store in 2015.
The participating Cub Scouts included Matthew Feeney, Ashley Wolf, Anthony Napolitano, Lief Tribus, Finn Tribus, Matt Berisha, Jordan Knight, Tanner Brindisi, Colin Kramer, Norbie Hirst, Emilio Gonzalez, Nicolas Gonzalez, Lucas Beyers, Scott Hirsch, Carter Gordon, Devin Knispel, Vencentio Tammaro, Darren Kluesner, Owen Francis, Garrett Armenti and Kyle Nungster. Troop 187 Scouts who participated in the event included Armend Berisha, Patrick McCarthy, Michael McCarthy, Ryan Thompson, Logan White, Kyle Kunich, Matthew Diem, John McDowall, Mike Coppola, Brendan Antrosiglio, Chris Stavac, Andy King and Kyle Kunich.
Troop 187 scouts were led by Bev Ganley, John McDowall, Sr., Chris Stavac Sr., Ron King, Joseph McCarthy and Peter Coppola. Elizabeth Tammaro from Girl Scout Troop 80299 in Holland Township also assisted with the collection efforts.
Pack 114 and Troop 112, both of Alexandria Township, provided coverage at the Phillipsburg ShopRite The participating Scouts collected 36 overflowing carts of food and other non-perishables totaling 4,200 from an incredibly generous customer base. These items were combined with the 200 pounds of food obtained by the four donated store cards mentioned above.
The items collected were split between St. Luke's Episcopal Church pantry in Phillipsburg and the food pantry at the Calvary Bible Fellowship Church in Finesville.
The Pack 114 Cub Scouts included Jeremy Werner, Kaden Brightwell, Raphael Scacci, Alex Ader, Evann Perez, Jaden Perez, Griffin Engelhardt, Peyton Dumont, Kyle Sandor, Michael Sandor, Robert McGlothlin, Ryan Strangfeld, Ethan Walker, John Heron, Luke Middings, Tucker Cole, John Metenosky, George Boetsch, Roman Verdicchio, Max Verdicchio, Nicholas Cody, Evan Strochak, Josh Zucker, Ethan Kassai, Colin Kassai, Joey Vehock and Anthony Russo. Attending Pack siblings included Brooke Werner, Lily Kassai, Alexandra Zucker, Alyssa McGlothlin, Amanda Metenosky and Riley Dumont.
Troop 112 scouts included Nathan Saccal, Benjamin Urmston, Joey Kiernan, Mitchell Burns, Kevin Burns, Troy Stagg, Holden Engelhardt, Benjamin Brown, Joe Franzo, Jason Czerna and Tyler Unkert.
The pack and troop were led by Matt Brown, Jim Kiernan, Dan Strochak, Victoria Dumont, Rose Heron, Jeff and Lisa Engelhardt, Jennifer Verdicchio, Tim Burns, Russell Middings, Tara Werner, Nadine Boetsch, Stacey McGlothlin, Chris Kassai, Sheryl Zucker, Mark Cody, Shane Brightwell, Jennie Metenosky, Eric Strangfeld, Rob Ader, Wanda Quinones, Laura Jones, Eric Dyott, Megan Olsen, Ron and Tammy Unkert, Lori Russo and Doug Walker.
In Washington, Pack and Troop 92, both of Lebanon Township, combined efforts with Pack and Troop 191 of Bethlehem Township to cover the Washington ShopRite.
The four units combined to collect more than 400 bags of non-perishables for St. Ann's Food Pantry in Hampton. The estimated total donation to St. Ann's is in excess of 4,050 pounds. This was over a 500 pound increase from the 2015 collection. The units also collected over $800 in cash that will be converted into Shoprite cards and donated to a local pantry as well.
The participating scouts from Pack 92 were led by Darin McDowell and included Brody McDowell, Jack Kornele, Tyler Bower, Krish Chandel, Andrew Seyfarth and Dustin Moke.
The Troop 92 volunteer scouts were Harry Sperduto, Nicholas Sachs, Ryan Bordeau, Nicholas D'Alessio, Christian Meyer, Gabriel Meyer, Andrew Ranallo, Griffin Stasick, James Weber and Tristan Weber. The Troop 92 Scouts were led by John Macdowell, Joe Stanski and Nick Sperduto.
The participating youth from Pack 191 were Ian Oest, Bryan Rooney, David Christie, Aidan Flood, Declan Flood, Connor Johnson, Dylan Merkel, Carter Greene, Parker Droney, Quinn Droney, Jack Brady, Riley Abate, Andrew DeLorenzo and John Morris.
The Pack 191 adults included Charlie Jackson, John Oest, Kevin Rooney, Darek Merkel, Joe Greene, John Morris (AOL Den Leader), Dave DeLorenzo (Tiger Leader), Dave Abate, Jennifer Droney, Tom Brady and Howard Johnson.
The scouts from Troop 191 included Patrick Leamy, Jozef Janosko, Liam Stewart, Aidan Stewart, Timmy Christie, George Williams and Michael Molzen.
The participating adults from Troop 191 included Scoutmaster Bill Leamy, Assistant Scoutmaster Rob Stewart and John Janosko.
The volunteer coordinator at St. Ann's food pantry, Lynn Coates, said she was thrilled with the volume of non-perishable items that were received.
Pack and Troop 192 of Califon went on a stretch assignment to cover the ShopRite in Chester. The two units were able to collect over 1,300 pounds of food that was donated to the North Hunterdon Food Panty in Glen Gardner. The youth who collected from Pack 192 were led Jack Ford, Landon Sacro and Kyle Tansug.
The scouts who collected from Troop 192 included Ryan Firko, Benji Beard, Christian Beard, Patrick Jolly, Tay Tansug, Sean Ford, Will Bell, Matt Bell and Oliver Judd.