CROMWELL - Toward the end of the month, Cromwell residents may come home to find a single yellow plastic bag attached to their mailbox or doorknob. The bags, distributed by Cromwell Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, is an opportunity for residents to help their neighbors in need who utilize the Cromwell Food Pantry.

       Scouts in first through fifth grade are participating in the annual Scouting for Food event throughout Cromwell. A yellow bag is dropped off to each home and residents are asked to leave the bags outside with a donation to the Cromwell Food Pantry. A week later Scouts and their leaders comb the neighborhoods, collecting the bags to bring back to the Human Services Department in Town Hall.

       â€�"The food goes directly back to people in Cromwell,” said resident Lauren Kaminski, who helps organize the Scouting for Food event. She and the Scouts and their leaders spend hours on end over several days driving through Cromwell dropping off and collecting bags for donations.

       For Kaminski, the Scouting for Food event serves to instill a sense of community and giving back in Cromwell Scouts as well as her young son and daughter. But it also hits closer to home, as several years ago a close friend’s daughter suffered a sudden serious medical affliction, requiring full-time care and rehabilitation. One unexpected tragedy forced the single mother of two to leave her job four years ago, and her daughter’s recovery is ongoing. The Cromwell Food Pantry is one of the resources that is helping the family get by.

       â€�"You don’t realize that this is happening to families you live side-by-side with,” said Kaminski. â€�"Just because someone looks healthy and lives in Cromwell doesn’t mean they’re not struggling.”

       Two years ago, the Scouting for Food event was a huge success, with Kaminski filling the back of her hatchback several times and boxes of food stacked along the entire wall outside the Human Services Department. However, it goes quickly and last year participation in the event was not as high as the previous year.

       While residents are always welcomed to make their own donation to the food pantry, the Scouting for Food event makes it as easy as possible, with residents being able to donate right from their homes.

       â€�"One person goes to Sam’s Club and buys cases of soups and fruit cups and things like that,” she said, â€�"but we’re really asking them to donate whatever they can.”

       And while people usually think of canned goods when they think of food pantry donations--and, of course, those are always welcomed and appreciated--Kaminski is also striving for donations of more economical and healthier items. While the basics --rice, pasta, soup, canned goods--are necessary staples, families with children and teenagers are in need of snacks, granola bars, trail mixes, plastic baggies, toiletries, etc. These are some of the pricier items at grocery stores, but are essential to families with children, like Kaminski’s friend, whose teenage son is active in sports. These types of donations can also bring a sense of normalcy back to a family that has suddenly been thrown into an unfortunate situation.

       Residents are kindly asked to consider some of the products that their family uses on a regular basis while making a donation. Every bit counts.

       If you return home one day to a yellow bag gracing your doorknob, please consider making a donation to the Cromwell Food Pantry and helping the Scouts on their mission to ensure none of their neighbors go hungry.