A few people were disappointed when they approached the Girl Scouts outside the Bothell QFC Nov. 8. Instead of selling Thin Mints and Samoas, the Girl Scouts were collecting nonperishable food items for Hopelink.

The Girl Scouts of Bothell and Kenmore (Service Unit 411/412) carried out a canned food blitz that Saturday. Some girls solicited food outside grocery-store doors, while others went door to door in their neighborhoods. Then late that afternoon, they delivered the food to the Bothell Hopelink.

The drive was organized quickly following a conversation between two local moms. One woman, Jennifer Knittle, coordinator of the Hopelink Emergency Feeding Service, mentioned that the food-bank shelves were nearly empty. The other mom, a Girl Scout volunteer, offered to see if the Girl Scout community could help.

Fourteen troops from Kenmore and Bothell joined the effort. The girls, ranging from kindergarten to high school, collected 4,900 pounds of food and $270 in cash. They welcomed the chance to help others, and they were very impressed with the generosity of their neighbors. One woman left the grocery store pushing a cart full of groceries. She removed a gallon of milk, then left the rest of the food as a donation, remarking that no one should go hungry.

The Girl Scouts expressed their appreciation for the managers of the Kenmore Safeway, Bothell QFC, Canyon Park QFC and Inglewood QFC for their quick and enthusiastic support of the food drive.

Collecting canned food is almost as much fun as selling cookies, according to some girls. They plan to repeat the drive, and they hope to beat this year’s totals.

Kim McKaig

Bothell