SCOUTING FOR FOOD A BIG SUCCESS; 1995 COLLECTIONS UP 30 PERCENT

Collections were up Saturday for the annual Scouting For Food campaign in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois.

By 3 p.m. Saturday, more than 15,000 cans of food had been turned in at the 4-H Pavilion in Arena Park.

"That's just for Cape Girardeau and nearby Southern Illinois," said Bob Hoppmann, who is working with the Scouting for Food campaign. "That doesn't include foods collected in other Southeast Missouri areas."

At the same time, more than 6,000 cans had been turned in at Jackson, 1,100 at Chaffee and 800 at Patton. The food is destined for area food pantries for local distribution.

"We're past 1994 collection totals," said Hoppmann. "We'll probably be up by more than 35 percent over last year's totals when the full count is in."

A pickup truck and a station wagon, both loaded with sacks filled with canned goods, pulled into the 4-H Pavilion while Hoppmann was totaling up collections.

"This year, we're receiving food here from Southern Illinois counties," said Jeffrey A. Doty, a senior district executive from the local Boy Scouts of America office in Cape Girardeau.

Collection bags had been dropped off at homes last week.

"This is a good program," said Hoppmann. "The food stays in the same towns that donate it. Food collected by Scouts in Jackson will stay there. Ditto, Chaffee, Patton and other areas."

The Scouting For Food campaign started in St. Louis several years ago and spread to towns like Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Perryville Chaffee and Scott City 11 years ago. The campaign has flourished and now is a national project.

"It's the nation's most successful single-day food drive," said Hoppmann. Scouts collected more than 1.6 million cans of food nationally last year.

In Cape Girardeau, Boy Scout and Cub Scout troops are sent to collect in different sections of the city, noted Hoppmann. "And we always receive help from volunteers, including sororities and fraternities.

Anyone who didn't receive a bag may still contribute food by taking cans to Mercantile Bank locations throughout Southeast Missouri by Friday.