SunTrust, Publix Super Markets, Inc. and WXIA-TV’s 11Alive News partnered with the Atlanta Area Council Boy Scouts of America to feed the hungry through the 2012 Scouting for Food program.  Originally launched in St. Louis in 1985 as an Eagle Scout service project, Scouting for Food is now one of the largest canned
food drives in America.

Scouts from 11 counties in metro Atlanta visited neighborhoods to distribute more than 260,000 Publix shopping bags to homes. Residents filled these bags with non-perishable food items and placed them on their doorstep one week later for the Scouts to pick up. Scouts delivered the food they collected to 22 area drop-off locations where volunteers sorted and boxed food to be delivered to local food pantries. Donated food was delivered to local organizations in the community where the food was collected.

For 2012, Scouts in 11 metro counties collected 229,183 pounds of food, a 63.7% increase over 2011, and provided an estimated 163,702 meals for those in need.

The 2012 Scouting for Food program was co-chaired by 11 Alive News Anchor Brenda Wood and SunTrust’s Corporate Communications and Community Engagement Executive Craig Smith.