As truckloads of cans come rolling in the side doors of the New McKendree United Methodist Church Educational Building, the Boy Scout troops and volunteers snap into action, sorting cans and filling boxes.

The men worked in a rhythmic pattern, like a well-oiled machine, and by 1 p.m. Saturday the collection space was filled with boxes stacked six feet high.

Saturday was one of the busiest days for the Boy Scouts of America, for their 30th annual Scouting for Food collection drive they had thousands of boxes to fill.

In just 24 hours, 1,811,354 food items were collected.

Approximately a week ago, 57,000 bags were distributed across the Shawnee District, which encompasses parts of Cape Girardeau, Scott, Perry and Bollinger counties. Area residents had a week to fill the bags, and Saturday, Scouts picked the bags back up to sort, box and send to pantries all over the area.

The Cape Girardeau collection site was at the Arena Park 4-H building, and even in 30-degree weather volunteers were hustling back and forth packing trucks with boxes.

Organizer Renee Boyer said collections were on schedule for the day, and, after five years organizing the can drive, she has the whole process operating smoothly.

"We box cans for five different pantries," Boyer said. "The Salvation Army, Red Star Baptist Church, Gibson Recovery Center, The Fish [of McHenry] Food Pantry and Catholic Ministries."

The way the Cape Girardeau location operated was pantries that would like the donations have to send five volunteers, they can take as many cans as they like but once their volunteers leave the next pantry gets to collect.

"They can take as much as they want, they can get an equal share if they want, but when they decide to leave and they don't have any representatives here they're done getting," Boyer said.

Earlier on Saturday, the Gibson Recovery Center on Linden Street in Cape Girardeau packed up 32 cases, which was under the 50 cases they took last year.

Boyer said all the boxes would be distributed to pantries by the end of the day, and by 1 p.m., 250 boxes had already been packed.

Saturday's food collection was a combined effort between the Greater St. Louis Area Council, which includes the city of St. Louis, 27 counties in eastern Missouri and 10 counties in Southern Illinois, and the Lewis and Clark Council, headquartered in Belleville, Illinois.

At New McKendree church in Jackson, Southeast Missouri State University fraternities worked with the scouts, packing boxes and organizing them into different piles around the room. Last year they collected 12,927 cans at the location alone, many of which went to the Jackson Ministerial Alliance Food Pantry in Jackson.

Sam Roethemeyer, president of the Jackson Ministerial Alliance Food Pantry, was happy with production lines in New McKendree church, saying the cans collected Saturday hit the pantry shelves as early as Sunday to become available for those in need, and he's very thankful for all those involved.

smaue@semissourian.com

388-3644

Pertinent addresses:

Arena Park 4-H building, 321 Jaycee Drive, Cape Girardeau, Mo.

New McKendree United Methodist Church Educational Building, 225 S. High St., Jackson, Mo.