By RORYE O’CONNOR

rorye.oconnor@register-news.com

MT. VERNON — Several local food pantries are looking forward to fuller shelves this holiday season thanks to the efforts of local Boy Scouts.

The Black Gold District of the Boy Scouts of America went all around Jefferson County (with scout leaders’ and parents’ help) and collected thousands of nonperishable food items and kitchen goods for four food pantries in the community — Angels on Assignment Angel Center, Epworth United Methodist Church, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church and St. Mary’s Catholic Church, said Dennis Bathon, Black Gold Senior District Executive.

Around noon Saturday, the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts of Troop 103 had collected more than 2,000 items to be distributed to the pantries. The total number of items collected won’t be tallied until the middle of the week, Bathon said.

Peyton Swan, 7, a Cub Scout with Troop 103, said he was having fun with the event.

“I kind of like putting the food everywhere,” he said. “We went all around Summersville and Marteeny. We did a lot, almost a whole trunk of food.”

Scouts notified about 4,000 residents of Mt. Vernon, Bluford, Dix, Summersville and Woodlawn of their food drive on Nov. 14 with door hanger fliers, Bathon said. Saturday, the scouts of the Black Gold District returned to the residences notified and picked up any nonperishable food items donated.

“I think it’s a great program,” said Waylan Middendorf, pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. “It’s wonderful that the Scouts are willing to do this as a project for the community, since there is such a need as some people are in pretty dire straits.”

Volunteers Hope Stuckey, Minnie Miller, Dwayne Young, Cortini Lockhart, Scouts, Scout leaders and parents organized the food with assembly-line efficency, sorting by type and then sending each type of item on a cart to piles around the St. Mary’s Parish Center.

Though the troops collected around 4,500 items last year, Bathon said he hoped to collect more this year.

Bill McKinley, pack trainer for Troop 103, expressed regret that the Boy Scouts couldn’t help out more.

“The economy’s hit us hard,” he said. “It’s hit everybody. Two years ago, the piles would be big enough that they’d be blending into each other.”

Debbie Wright, a mother of two Scouts who has nine years of Scouting for Food under her belt, said this year’s haul was one of the lowest she’d seen.

“It’s unfortunate because more and more people need help,” she said. “I have seen a trend downward the past three times. You can see a big difference.”

Wright and others traveled through neighborhoods several times on Saturday in case they missed any donations not put out early in the morning.

Janet Middendorf, who volunteered with several other members of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, said the bags and boxes of food coming into the gym were an exciting sight.

“You know there’s going to be food to take back to fill our shelves with,” she said.

The Cubs and Boy Scouts of Troop 103 were operating on little sleep in some cases, as they’d had a lock-in at St. Mary’s the previous night and had stayed up late playing soccer, basketball and video games, Bathon said.

The Scouting for Food campaign, which began in 1987, draws in 2 million nonperishable items nationally, said Kevin Woolever, Pack 127 Scouting for Food chairman.

To donate more food to the Boy Scouts, call Dennis Bathon at 618-234-9111. Food will be picked up and distributed to participating pantries.