Nov 23, 2014 2 min read

Since 2006, the youth at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Upper St. Clair have been scavenging for food in the neighborhoods surrounding their church. The tradition of the Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt is one of the most anticipated events of the youth group, Veritas, which meets every Wednesday evening from 6-8 p.m.

As November approaches, Jason Freyer and Ed Sutter, youth directors, gather parent volunteers to drive the youth around the neighborhoods for two Wednesday evenings. The first week is spent distributing fliers to each home on their designated route. The fliers announce that the students will return the following week to collect donations of non-perishable food items. The second week, the students are often greeted by homeowners handing them food or monetary donations. Often, if a homeowner is out they will leave bags of food on the porch. The students leave another flier, thanking them for their generosity.

This year, 35 students in grades 6 through 12, along with eight adult chaperones, collected 1,263 food items. When delivered to South Hills Interfaith Ministries, the items weighed in at 1,278 pounds. According to Ann Callen, community relations manager for SHIM, “There are over 450 families who reside in the South Hills communities who visit our food pantries each month. We know that each family leaves the pantry with approximately 60 pounds of food. So, on average – your group provided 21 families with food this month.”

To learn more, visit www.shim-center.org or www.westminster-church.org.