Canal Winchester youths will be “Scouting for Food” once again in April.

“This is our sixth annual Scouting for Food Community Food Drive, and we’re excited that this year we’ll be partnered with the recently relocated and expanded Community Food Pantry,” food drive coordinator Susan Tomlinson said. “We’ll head out at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 14, and walk the neighborhoods until about 1 p.m.”

Last year, the drive brought in an estimated 3,000 items, Tomlinson said; this year, they hope to collect even more.

“Troops 103 of the Cub and Boy Scouts, along with the Girl Scouts, are organizing the drive, but we really want this to be a whole community event,” Tomlinson said. “Every year we like it to grow. We divide up the community into 16 different areas and in the past, we haven’t had enough groups to go to all those areas. So this year, we’re reaching out to the community at large and especially to other community groups and asking them to help.”

According to Tomlinson, the event is a favorite with the kids and many residents.

“It’s a fun event for the scouts. When they come back and see the amount of food, they’re just amazed,” she said. “This is one of those events where the kids aren’t asking people to buy popcorn or mulch or anything, just give back to the community.”

Participants go door-to-door collecting food and in the process, they get to know their neighbors, Tomlinson said.

“We go door to door and the residents know to expect that and I think some of them really look forward to it,” she said. “I think it’s a social thing where some people like to see the kids coming around and talk to them for a minute,

“Of course, it runs quicker if they put the food on the front porch, but this is also a time for fun.”

The most-requested items for the drive include chunky soups, breakfast foods like cereal, boxed meals, canned fruits and personal-care items.

“Monetary donations are also appreciated,” she said. “The Community Food Pantry can use the money to purchase perishable items like milk, eggs and bread. Even small donations add up quickly.”

More information about “Scouting for Food” is available from Tomlinson at 614-920-3600.

“The new pantry is just amazing and Lisa (Zurbriggen) has it set up so well,” Tomlinson said. “And that we can help out this way, even just one day a year, but we hope the volume of donations we receive will help stretch what the Community Food Pantry can do because we know the need is definitely out there.”