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Guides, scouts hike for hunger in Langford

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Molly Fehr

Girl guides and boy scouts are looking to pack on the pounds, of food that is.

Youth from Colwood and Langford are teaming up together to collect as many non-perishable food items as they can for their annual Hike for Hunger campaign.

“Some people don’t have food and we are going to be giving them some more food,” said brownie Gabrielle McPhee, 8. “Some people just care about people.”

More than 150 youth are expected to meet at Westshore Town Centre with their collected items on Feb. 27. Then they will proceed to Goldstream Food Bank on Station Avenue.

This year, girl guides and boy scouts ranging in age from five to 17 years old, are going to hike with hundreds of pounds of food on their backs.

“It’s really hard to carry all the food, but it’s worth it,” said guide Molly Fehr, 11.

Last year the youth travelled with 450 pounds of food. This year the goal is to hit 600 pounds.

If the amount of donated food it too much to carry, then a truck helps transport the food.

“We don’t want a little five-year-old with a heavy bag so we might give them a can carry,” said Trudine Wilson, Straits district commander of Girl Guides of Canada.

“We want to help support the Goldstream Food Bank so people can get food who can’t afford it,” said pathfinder Courtney Hyde, 13.

The annual donation is appreciated by the food bank, said Gayle Ireland, president of the Goldstream Food Bank.

“For their little legs, it’s a long walk. Some of them have backpacks full of food and others are pulling wagons,” Ireland said. “It’s a lot of effort they put in with the hike itself. They are a great bunch of conscientious kids.”

Girl guides and boy scouts have been hosting the Hike for Hunger for the past 19 years. It is an annual food drive which operates nationally.

The Goldstream Food Bank is in need of jam, canned pasta, pet food and personal care items. “We are really happy to get anything though,” Ireland noted.

To donate non-perishable food times to the Hike for Hunger, call Wilson at 250-478-5484 and she will arrange for a pick up prior to Feb. 27.

reporter@goldstreamgazette.com