Girl Scouts closes animal hunger gap by collecting over one thousand pounds of food

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - A group of Girl Scouts in Waco collected more than 1,300 pounds of food for foster animals, helping close the hunger gap for pets in need.

Organizers of Troop 22450 said their work could win them an award and it goes far beyond a badge.

Troop 22450 is bringing in bags of animal food while making a difference for the foster animal community, the scouts partnered with the Humane Society of Central Texas and local businesses to collect dog and cat food.

Madison Thomas and Makayla Delvecchio said being a part of the service project is fulfilling.

Thomas said now that there’s more animal food, it could encourage people to foster more.

“Sometimes they aren’t able to do this, and they want to do this. But there’s just one thing holding them back and that’s the ability to get them food. With this project, we can help those animals and those people,” said Thomas.

The troop weighed the food on a scale to see their success.

Organizers said it took the five girl scouts one month to collect 1,370.6 pounds of food.

Troop leader, Becky Burns said the girls were dedicated and determined to collect as much as possible all by themselves.

“I think the biggest thing is just so they know that they can make a difference, they can make a huge difference in the lives of their community and the animals of their community,” said Burns.

Organizers said another goal of the project is to bring them their first Bronze Award.

However, Delvecchio said it’s not about the hardware.

“It’s a reminder of me helping people and doing something good, and that makes me happy,” said Delvecchio.

The troop challenged others in the area to follow in their footsteps, so no other foster animal is hungry.

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