It was the second highest total in the drive’s nine-year history. Last fall, the Scouts broke their record by collecting more than 6,300 pounds of food.

“I think it went really well,” said Dave Shea, a committee member for Cub Scout Pack 105 and Boy Scout Troop 43. “We had really good involvement.”

Also participating in the drive were Cub Scout Pack 43, Boy Scout Troop 105, Girl Scouts of Pembroke and Venturing Crew 72. The groups dropped off bags around Pembroke on Nov. 7 and picked them up a week later on a very rainy Saturday morning.

The wet weather may have led to a drop in donations from last year, Shea said, with some residents worried about leaving bags out in the rain or choosing not to make a trip to the community center to deliver items.

There also are several food drives going on in town for the Food Pantry (including one being organized by the Express), so people might be donating though other venues, Shea said.

“We didn’t get as much food as last year, but there are multiple drives going on all over town,” he said. “The town overall probably did pretty well.”

Food Pantry volunteer Bill Ferguson said the pantry shelves are beginning to fill up, though they don’t have the reserves they had last year.

“Right now, it looks really impressive, but I know this is going to have to get us through probably until next summer, and we’ve had a pretty high demand,” he said. “There are still some empty shelves.”

Ferguson said he was starting to worry several weeks ago with supplies so low and more and more residents signing up to receive food.

With heavy traffic on Wednesday, recently filled shelves were already looking light again.

The Food Pantry is serving about 280 families and continues to get more each week, he said. Last fall, the pantry was serving about 200 families, an increase from 2007 when about 100 families were signed up.

Along with the donations brought in by the Scouts, the Food Pantry has been getting help from youth sports organizations, student groups, artists, business owners, adult service groups and more. Pembroke High School Student Council is planning to hand over $1,000 brought in by their homecoming dance, and a St. Thecla’s CCD class has collected items to donate.

Along with food, the Food Pantry is in need of cleaning supplies, health and beauty aids (bar soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste and deodorant) and paper products (toilet paper, towels, napkins and Kleenex).

All donations, including money, can be dropped off at any time at the Pembroke Public Library and Pembroke Fire Department or at the community center on Wednesdays when the pantry is open, from 8:30-11:30 a.m.

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