Email sent Monday, March 10, 2025
Hopefully, food pickup went well last weekend. We received many appreciative emails from our Food Pantries with gratitude and thanks for our scout's time and service. A couple of notes:
Post-SFF Report
Please communicate the number of volunteers (scouts, adults, siblings) and the number of items or pounds of food. Link is on the website or HERE. Just select the Red "Scouting Units" button and fill out the form under Step 5.
Please, please, please fill out the Post-SFF Report as we will use these numbers to determine patches for the scouts as well as provide the Baltimore Area Council the overall numbers. We are hoping to have the patches by the April or May roundtable.
Also, please record the service hours in Scoutbook/Internet Advancement. Information can be found HERE.
If anyone has availability, I would love some help with "Missed Bags". 85 homes (as of Mar 9) have reported they did not get their food picked up. I was able to pick up 25 this past weekend, but would love some volunteers for the remaining missed donations. Essentially, I will coordinate with the home owners and tell them to put the bags out when it is convenient for you to pickup. The areas are below:
Catonsville
Clarksville
Columbia
Elkridge
Ellicott City (21042)
Fulton
Highland
Laurel
Savage
If you can help with "missed bags", please respond to this email with the area you can cover.
Email sent Sunday, March 2, 2025
For the vast majority of you, food pickup is on schedule for this upcoming weekend. The maps are posted on the SFF website.
Marketing
Use social media (e.g., Facebook, NextDoor) to communicate to those in your neighborhood the day/time of the pickup. Please let them know the specific neighborhood/streets as different units are doing pickup on different days.
Place SFF reminder signs out a couple of days before. Do not forget to pick up your signs by Sunday evening!
Food Pickup
Safety, safety, safety!
Please ensure you go through each territory at least a second time to pick up and "late" arriving food.
We will let you know if there are additional food donations that need to be picked up this weekend.
Food Pantry Dropoff
Please ensure that you are following the instructions for your unit's food pantry. You can view those HERE.
Units taking food donations to the District Distribution Center, your instructions can be found HERE.
If you will be delivering your food outside of the listed time, please contact the food pantry to coordinate an alternate time.
Post-SFF Report
Please capture the number of volunteers (scouts, adults, siblings) and the number of items or pounds of food. Link is on the scoutingforfoodnpd.com website or HERE. Just select "Scouting Units" and go to Step 5.
Please fill out the Post-SFF Report as the Baltimore Area Council will use these numbers to determine patches for the scouts.
Pictures
If you take pictures throughout the day that you would like to share with us, please email them to scoutingforfoodnpd@gmail.com.
Email sent Sunday, Feb 23, 2025
For the vast majority of you, hangtag dropoff is on schedule for this upcoming weekend. The maps are posted on the SFF website.
Below are some resources that might be of assistance for the next two weekends:
Safety, Safety, Safety: Just a friendly reminder for this weekend that SAFETY is the number one concern. Please ensure both scouts and parents are being safe. There are some good tips in the example communication documentation on the website. The direct link to the referenced document is here.
Track Volunteers & Hours: Please track those that are volunteering their time to support SFF. A sample tracking form that you can use is here.
****One thing to note is that hangtags were cut VERY close to the top. They have a tendency to rip at the top. One option is to use rubber bands. Try size 33 (3-1/2" x 1/8") to prevent the ripping. One of the units had a suggestion that worked well last year where you fold the handtag in half and tie the rubber band around the folded part to prevent the ripping. https://youtube.com/shorts/JP7ThHjDOAI Here is an alternate option especially if you have smaller rubber bands https://youtube.com/shorts/NkzJc-X0tf4
Email sent Tuesday, Feb 18, 2025
Final Territory and Food Pantry: The final territories and food pantries have been published. They both can be found at the scoutingforfoodnpd.com website with the map of your unit's territory (2025 Maps) as well as food pantry (2025 Food Pantries) information. Please let me know if you see any discrepancies.
Please review the territory maps to ensure they are accurate. Direct link is here.
Please review the food pantries to ensure they are accurate. In column G, it lists the unit AND the date you will be delivering the food to the food pantry. If the delivery date is incorrect, please let me know. The food pantries like to know how many units to expect. Direct link is here.
For those units that will be dropping off at the District Distribution Center, updated information will be sent out to your unit directly.
We are still validating a couple of food pantry drop off information highlighted in Yellow.
Scouting For Food Signs (Optional): If your unit is interested, you can purchase Scouting For Food signs. A picture of the sign, instructions are in the below document. The cost is $14.00 per sign (including H bracket to put in the ground). If your unit would like one, please respond to this email with the number of signs you need.
Email sent Monday, Feb 10, 2025
SFF Captains,
This week we highlight hangtag pickup (Monday!), Q&A Session, and Communication.
Hangtag Pickup: You may pick up the hangtags at the February roundtable on Monday, February 10 between 7:15pm and 8:30pm. Columbia Academy 10350 Old Columbia Rd, Columbia, MD 21046. You do not need to come right at 7:15pm, but anytime in that window. In the event you cannot pick up this Monday, please reply to this email and we can coordinate an alternate time for pickup.
Optional Question & Answer Session: There will be an optional virtual Q&A session on Wednesday, February 12 and Thursday, February 20 between 7:00pm-8:30pm. You can join anytime during those time frames to ask any questions that you have.
Q&A Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4377905659
Q&A Meeting ID: 437 790 5659
Q&A Dial In: +13092053325,,4377905659# US
Training & Communication Examples: Please see the SFF website for links to the training, training presentation, and communication examples.
Email sent Thursday, Feb 6, 2025
SFF Captains,
First, I want to thank everyone for having SFF a part of your unit's service projects and programming. Your support of SFF continues to help fight food sensitivity in our local communities.
We will have weekly emails going out with information surrounding SFF. If you would like to be removed from this list or have another member added to this distribution, please email me.
Hangtag Pickup: You may pick up the hangtags at the February roundtable on Monday, February 10 between 7:15pm and 8:30pm. Columbia Academy 10350 Old Columbia Rd, Columbia, MD 21046. You do not need to come right at 7:15pm, but anytime in that window. In the event you cannot pickup this Monday, please reply to this email and we can coordinate an alternate time for pickup.
Training: Last year, we created a 15 minute video that will give you an introduction for SFF and answer a lot of questions that you may have. Whether this is your first year coordinating for your unit or you just need a refresher, this presentation is for you. The training can be found here. In addition to the video, there are also links to the introduction PowerPoint Slides and communication examples that you can leverage.
Question & Answer Session: Although we will not have any in-person training sessions, we will have an opportunity for a virtual Q&A on Wednesday, February 12 and Thursday, February 20 between 7:00pm-8:30pm. You can join anytime during those time frames to ask any questions that you have. The Zoom link will be sent in next week's email. You can also ask questions at the hangtag pickup (above) or send us an email.
Territory Maps and Food Pantry: Final territories and food pantries have been individually confirmed via email. These will be confirmed and posted on the website by Monday, February 10.