Boy Scout Troop 149 of Falcon collected 13,278 pounds of food during the Scouting for Food Drive 2015 in April. Cub Scout Packs 149, 159 and 231 also helped collect food during the drive to donate to the High Plains Helping Hands food pantry (HPHH), a Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado agency that serves families in Falcon and the High Plains areas.

More than 100 volunteers, including scouts, siblings, parents, and friends put in 993 hours during the drive. The teams prepared and distributed bags with flyers that were set out at homes all over the Falcon area asking the community to participate in the drive. On April 18, the Scouts collected the food and brought it to High Plains Helping Hands, where they helped sort the items.

Rose Mizer, executive director at HPHH, said the food is the largest single-day donation the pantry receives during the year and comes at a time when food is desperately needed. The drive carries the pantry through the late spring and summer seasons. Mizer expressed appreciation to the Falcon community for its support and to the Scouts and volunteers who assisted with the drive.

“The Falcon area is starting to realize that this is just something they get to be a part of every April and they seem to give more and more,” said Randy Blevins, who has organized the drive each year.

The annual drive is the capstone community project of the Pikes Peak Boy Scout Council and has become an anticipated event in the Falcon community. Troop 149 has consistently brought in the most food during the drive, helping those in need in their community. For the past five years, troopers have broken their previous year’s collection record.