CHARLOTTE, N.C. — WCNC Charlotte teamed up once again with Boy Scouts of America to help fight hunger in the community and make a difference through the Scouting For Food drive.
Scouting For Food is the super bowl of food drive for Nourish Up, formerly known as Loaves & Fishes/Friendship Trays. While the nonprofit's name has changed, its mission is still the same: to nourish neighbors with food and compassion.
All of the donations collected by the Mecklenburg County Council benefit Nourish Up. Scouting For Food is their single largest food drive of the year. In 2023, Nourish Up fed 137,806 people compared to 106,000 people in 2022. This is the highest in its 48-year history, eclipsing the height of the recession in the mid-2000s when the organization fed 126,000.
WCNC Charlotte is proud to announce that, so far, more than $18,000 has been donated and more than 120,000 pounds of food has been collected in Mecklenburg County and surrounding counties for our 2024 drive. There is still food coming in that needs to be weighed, and a grand total will be determined in a few weeks.
Food and monetary donations through Scouting for Food in Mecklenburg County provide much-needed groceries and hope to neighbors in need in our community through Nourish Up. So many people in our community are living paycheck to paycheck and on such a tight budget that with the increased cost of food, fuel, and housing – there is often not enough left to also put food on the table. Parents often skip meals so their children have enough to eat.
No one should have to worry about where their next meal will come from. To make an online monetary donation, text the word SCOUT4FOOD to 44321 to support Nourish Up.
Scouts with the Mecklenburg County Council, Central NC Council and Palmetto Council went door-to-door on Saturday, Feb. 3 to collect much-needed donations for various food pantries.
Scouts collected donations in Mecklenburg, York, Lancaster, Anson, Union, Cabarrus, Rowan and Stanly counties.
In York County, South Carolina, scouts will collected donations with a portion to benefit the Fort Mill Care Center. They not only provide food to those in need, they also help residents of Fort Mill and Tega Cay pay utilities and prescriptions.
The WCNC Charlotte team was at the Arboretum Shopping Center – Providence Road and Highway 51 (across from the Harris Teeter) in Charlotte on Saturday, Feb. 3 from 8 a.,. to Noon collecting donations in person.
Donations were also collected at:
- Subaru South Charlotte (10410 Cadillac St, Charlotte, NC 28134)
- Subaru Concord (853 Concord Pkwy S, Concord, NC 28027)
If a scout did not leave a door hanger on your door, you can still donate. There are several drop-off locations throughout each county.
Mecklenburg County
You can drop off food donations at any of the locations listed below on Saturday, Feb. 3, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 4, from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. (at certain locations indicated below) or at the Nourish Up warehouse Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. through 4:30 p.m. located at 648 Griffith Rd.
Those who prefer to make a financial donation directly to Nourish Up can donate online or text 44321 and enter the code: Scout4Food. Each dollar donated equals 4 lbs of food!
Scouts were on hand to collect donations at these locations on Feb. 3:
- Ada Jenkins Center - 212 Gamble St., Davidson (Saturday, Feb. 3 only drop-off site)
- Arboretum Shopping Center – Providence Road and Highway 51 (across from the Harris Teeter), Charlotte
- Back Creek Church – 1821 Back Creek Church Road, Charlotte Saturday, Feb. 3 10am-3pm
- Good Shepherd Church – 13110 Moss Rd, Charlotte (Saturday, Feb. 3 only drop-off site)
- Huntersville United Methodist Church – 14005 Stumptown Rd., Huntersville
- Philadelphia Presbyterian Church – 11501 Bain School Rd., Mint Hill (Saturday, Feb. 3 only drop-off site)
- Sardis Presbyterian Church, 6100 Sardis Road, Charlotte (Saturday, Feb. 4 only drop-off site)
- Sharon Presbyterian Church – 5201 Sharon Rd., Charlotte
- South Mecklenburg Presbyterian Church - 8601 Bryant Farms Rd, Charlotte (Saturday, Feb. 3 only drop-off site)
Collection sites in South Carolina include:
- Belair United Methodist Church serving Indian Land
- Pilgrims' Inn serving Rock Hill
- Fort Mill Care Center serving Fort Mill
- PATH serving York
- Clover Area Assistance Center serving Clover and Lake Wylie
- Hope of Rock Hill serving Rock Hill
- The Lakeshore Pantry serving Rock Hill
- HOPE in Lancaster serving Lancaster County
- Catawba Terrace Care Center serving Rock Hill
- Upstate Family Resource Center serving Boiling Springs
- GRASP serving Great Falls
- Spartanburg Soup Kitchen serving Spartanburg
