Broomfield-based Boy Scout Troop 767 is donating roughly 1,500 pounds of food to Broomfield FISH this month after troop members held a food drive outside of King Soopers.
“I was shocked at the outcome,” said troop member Dylan Dunnington. “We had the whole corner of our living room piled up with food.”
Lisa Dunnington said her son partnered with fellow Boy Scouts Brayden Dunnington, along with Cooper, Killian and Liam Barnes, who spent four hours on Aug. 6 and 7 asking for donations outside of King Soopers.
“It wasn’t bad standing out there, it was just really hot,” Dylan Dunnington said.
The Scouts handed flyers to shoppers entering the store requesting them to donate an item or two for the cause and in addition to the food raised several hundred dollars.
“We had several people who bought multiple items, and a couple people who even brought half carts and carts full,” Lisa Dunnington said.
The food drive was conceived by Dylan Dunnington as a means to earn his Boy Scout “Citizenship in the Community” badge and give back to kids who needed food at the same time.
Dylan Dunnington joined Cub Scouts as a first grader and, now 14 years old, has been a Boy Scout for more than three years.
“I hope to be an Eagle Scout in two years,” he said.
The donation drive will help to feed families and fuel hope, Broomfield FISH Communications and Media Manager Maggie Sava said.
“The food donations will help stock our marketplace,” she said.
The need for food assistance in the community remains high, Sava explained.
“We are seeing about 1,000 families come in to shop each month,”’ she said. “We are distributing 110,000 to 140,000 pounds of food a month.”
As an added incentive, Dylan Dunnington agreed to “bend over backwards” to encourage peers to back the Boy Scouts campaign.
“For little kids I did a backflip if they donated,” he said.
In many cases, Lisa Dunnington said patrons were enthused that the Boy Scouts were supporting the community and not raising funds for their organization.
“I think that portion of it helped to gain extra donations,” she said.
At the conclusion of the two-day outreach, the Boy Scouts had amassed an impressive pile of food donations.
“They had so much food we sent the FISH truck over to pick up their donations,” Sava said.
Dylan Dunnington said volunteering to support a community nonprofit like Broomfield FISH was a worthwhile endeavor.
“I really helped a lot of people,” he said.
The experience was impactful for Dylan Dunnington, who encouraged his peers to consider volunteering time to help others.
“Even if they're not in Scouts they should try and do something to help out the community,” he said.
