The largest youth organisation in T&T, ScoutsTT, is once again Scouting for Food. Its third annual national food drive launched on United Way’s National Day of Caring on May 20, when members of the First Naparima College Sea Scout Group collected food at JTA Supermarket, C3 Centre before delivering the donations to The Hope Centre in San Fernando.
Scouting for Food is aligned to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number two: “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.”
As SDGs are now a part of the Scout Programme internationally, and incorporated into our local programme, a major goal of the project is to get our young people to understand the problem and how they can be part of the solution.
The project started two years ago after recognising that more than 20 per cent of the country’s population lives below the poverty line and eight to 11 per cent are undernourished. Scouting for Food aims to educate the public of this issue among so many and engender a commitment to community, volunteerism and helping each other.
Donations of dry goods and toiletries can be made at the bins set up at JTA, Xtra Foods and Massy Stores supermarkets, where scouts in uniform will be present on weekends to promote the drive and assist with the collection of donations. The food collected will be distributed to families identified by scout groups in their districts across the country and to homes by the national office.
Corporate T&T is also urged to get involved with this initiative by setting up collection bins at their work places.
To learn more about Scouting for Food, including how to get involved, contact Scout Headquarters at 624-7271 or check the Facebook event page Scouting for Food 2018.
