GIRL, BOY SCOUTS CONVERGE ON COMMUNITY

Jon Kridelbaugh of Cape Girardeau is only 9 years old but he expresses sentiments than some adults can't seem to grasp.

"You've got to help people who need it," Kridelbaugh said. "Some people can't take care of themselves all the time and they need a little help to make it through."

It's a valuable lesson, but Kridelbaugh says he learns lessons like these all the time in the Cub Scouts.

On Saturday, he joined 1,640 other Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts and Explorers in Southeast Missouri by participating in "Scouting For Food," the annual program which provides donated cans of food to give to the needy. The program is in its twelfth year.

Scouts from the Shawnee District, which includes Cape Girardeau, Perry, Bollinger and portions of Scott and Stoddard counties took to the streets Saturday to collect the filled food bags that were left on door knobs and porches last week.

In Cape Girardeau, 17,000 cans of food were collected and will go to local food pantries, said Tom Turpin, the Shawnee district executive. That's about 2,000 more cans than were collected last year, he said.

More than 44,000 cans were collected in the Shawnee District, Turpin said.

"Scouting for Food seems to be getting better every year," said Terry Schwarck, a Scout executive. "Fortunately, the campaign occurs during the time of the year when food is needed most."

FISH, the Salvation Army, Women's Safe House and the Gibson Recovery Center will divide the food up equally.

"The food we receive from the Boy Scouts is really a blessing," said Robert Gauthier, captain of the Salvation Army in Cape Girardeau. "It gives us added resources that we need to get through our heaviest moments."

This year's drive comes with the backdrop of significantly fewer donations to the area food pantries during the past three years, driven by a 53 percent decline in government food contributions.

Scouting for Food was started in 1985 by the Greater St. Louis Council Boy Scouts of America. It has grown into the nation's largest single-day food drive, collecting more than 1.7 million cans of food in 1995.

The "Scouting for Food" campaign is a perfect opportunity for the Boy Scouts and community to come together to help the less fortunate, said Richard Jones, chairman of the 1996 event.

"This campaign reinforces the Scouts' commitment to helping others in a time of need," he said.

Mike Renaud, the cub master of pack 20 in Cape Girardeau, says it also teaches the scouts a lesson worth learning.

"They are very enthusiastic about helping people," Renaud said. "It's nice to instill values in kids this young. We hope that they can carry these values with them until they get older."

Those who didn't get a chance to donate but would like to should take cans of nonperishable food to FISH or the Salvation Army.