To the Editor:

The Merrimack Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts would like to thank the residents of Merrimack who contributed to the annual Scouting for Food drive on Nov. 8. Your generosity yielded a total of 10,211 food items collected.

This annual Boy Scout community service project is intended to help fill the shelves of local food pantries and soup kitchens, and is conducted all across the country. From the items collected in Merrimack alone, 3,672 of these items went directly to the St. James United Methodist Church food pantry, while the remainder went to a distribution site in Nashua where other area food banks arrived to pick up supplies to restock their shelves.

Over 110 Merrimack Scouts braved the chilly morning to collect the donations from all parts of the town. Along with over 80 Scout leaders and parents, the day was a great success.

Participating Boy Scout Troops included Troop 424, Troop 401, Troop 15 and Troop 48. Participating Cub Scout Packs included Pack 424, Pack 401, Pack 525 and Pack 48.

A special thanks goes out to Mike Brooks, of Brooks Moving and Storage, for donating his time and his truck to help the Scouts transport the donations from Merrimack to the distribution site in Nashua.

Russell Morin