VIDALIA, La. – When you ask a group of young boys what they like about being Cub Scouts, the answers are usually quite simple. &uot;It’s fun. It’s great,&uot; said several members of Pack 22 in Vidalia this week. In addition to traditional activities such as camping, Cub Scouts also involves the boys in service projects.

This month the Cub Scouts took part in a food drive for Feed the Hungry in Concordia Parish for the &uot;Scouting for Food&uot; program.

&uot;The thing I like about (Cub) Scouts is we get to help people and we get to do things for people,&uot; said pack member Thomas Dotson.

To assist Feed the Hungry, the Cub Scouts, with the help of ABATE, another local organization, spent the past two Saturdays collecting food around town.

On Saturday, Nov. 4, the Cub Scouts placed grocery bags on the doors of houses in Vidalia with instructions about the project.

The next Saturday, the Cub Scouts went back through town and collected the bags which residents had filled with food.

Many of the boys said they enjoyed the project and did not find it difficult.

&uot;It wasn’t hard work for me (because) I went on roller skates,&uot; said William Stone.

The Cub Scouts collects food for Feed the Hungry annually.

This year they collected 3,845 pounds of food, up from 3,000 pounds in Nov. 1999.

Cub Master Phyllis Stewart said she thinks it is important to involve the boys in service projects.

&uot;We try to do every event that we hear of that comes up,&uot; Stewart said. &uot;They need to learn responsibility and that they need to help other people in this world.&uot;

For example, the Cub Scouts recently worked on a flower bed at Vidalia Lower Elementary and picked up litter on a mile of the Natchez Trace this summer.

&uot;They need to keep being reminded that they need to do good deeds,&uot; Stewart said.

Projects like the annual food drive help the Cub Scouts learn how each little contribution can make a difference, Stewart said.

While picking up food this year, the boys noticed that one resident had only put one can of soup in the bag.

But Stewart said she told them &uot;one can of soup (means) one person doesn’t go hungry that day.&uot;