Like troops across the country, Lincoln County Boy Scouts participated in the organization’s annual Scouting for Food drive this past weekend.
The previous weekend, the scouts delivered shopping bags to area households. On Nov. 12 they returned and picked up the bags set out for them. In the meantime, interested donors filled the bags with various non-perishable foods.
The donations were taken to the local food pantries where they are used to help restock the shelves.
This year, in one bag collected by Damariscotta Boy Scout Troop 213, one anonymous donor included a note: “I have included pet food and some paper towels because I imagine if someone is having difficulty getting enough food – these things may be lacking, too.”
We think that was a very thoughtful gesture.
A lot of people are hurting in a lot of places and every little bit any one person can do to help, helps.
While we may think of a food pantry as a resource for food, and rightfully so, it is a vital resource for people in need. People lacking funds for essentials like food also by extension, may lack the funds for other essentials such as toilet paper, toothpaste, and pet food.
It is true that Scouting for Food is intended to restock the pantry for humans but it is also true, as any advocate for the Lincoln County Animal Shelter will tell you, LCAS and shelters like it have been especially hard hit by the economic downturn in recent years.
Sadly, many pet owners facing the financial squeeze made the hard decision to turn their furry friends over to the shelter.
Doing so can’t be an easy decision for the pet owner even if it makes financial sense, and from the pet’s viewpoint, there’s no understanding why the move from a home to a shelter. In an owner’s eyes, the animal has to eat; but two hearts are broken.
This year, if and when you are throwing an extra tin in the grocery cart for a food pantry, we suggest an extra tin of pet food, too. It can’t hurt and it could mean food security for man and beast.
