Malmstrom volunteers help ensure successful Scouting for Food event

  • Published
  • By Airman Cortney Hansen
  • 341st Missile Wing Public Affairs
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --  Air Force Global Strike Command Airmen from Malmstrom teamed up with the Lewis and Clark district Boy Scouts in the annual Scouting for Food event Saturday.

Scouting for Food kicked off April 2 when hundreds of empty grocery bags were distributed to houses across the Great Falls community. Boy Scouts, along with several volunteers, revisited the houses scattered across town Saturday, looking for bags holding donations for the food drive.

"Scouting for Food is a significant food drive - one of the largest ones that [the Food Bank] has - and after coming off of the holidays, and now moving on to the summer months when there's not many food drives, this is really important for us," said Gayle Gifford, the Executive Director of the Great Falls community food bank.

Several Airmen from Malmstrom gathered at the Food Bank to help sort the donations brought in by the Scouts into several categories. Items that were donated included non-perishable canned food items, personal hygiene products such as toothpaste and deodorant, dry goods, paper products and baby items.

"I loved the chance to help out my community," said Senior Airman Harold Clark, 341st Medical Support Squadron outpatient records technician. "Without the community, we're not able to do what we do every day."

Airman Clark was volunteering alongside the other members of his Airman Leadership class. The ALS students, along with members from the 5/6 Alliance and Air Force Sergeants Association, came out to do their part in the effort.

"The 5/6 Alliance is Malmstrom's E5's and E6's," said Tech. Sgt. Tenell Woods, 341st Force Support Squadron readiness section chief and 5/6 Alliance president. "We try to come together and help out any way that we can in the community to get some networking done. We're helping ourselves and hopefully helping out the Airmen ranks to be better [non-commissioned officers] when it's their time to take over."

The Great Falls Community Food Bank has been partnering with the Lewis and Clark district Boy Scouts for more than 15 years. Last year, the event raised 19,500 pounds of food within Great Falls with a total of 100,000 pounds of food collected in the state of Montana.

Overall, the Food Bank received 21,116 pounds of food - exceeding last year's contributions - and reaching this year's goal of 21,000 pounds.