'Tis the season

On Saturday, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts went door-to-door collecting non-perishable food items from Sandy Beach Rd. to Scow Bay Loop Rd. The food was brought back to the Salvation Army Church, where the food was separated by the older Boy Scouts between vegetables, soups, fruits, pasta, stuffing and "odds and ends," according to Salvation Army Major Loni Upshaw. Some of the food went towards Thanksgiving food boxes and some to the year round food pantry. Food boxes were put together by members of the Unites States Coast Guard and their families. Over 5,000 pounds of food were collected, enough to make 54 food boxes, with turkeys and an additional 22 food boxes being donated by the Girl Scouts, Petersburg Lutheran Church, St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church and the First Baptist Church, according to Upshaw. The Salvation Army has been putting together food boxes in Petersburg for over 10 years. "This town has always been a very gracious town," said Upshaw. Boxes of food collected by the Salvation Army were distributed earlier this week.