Boys and girls will be Scouting for Food this weekend to collect food for food shelves in Freeborn, Mower and Faribault counties.

Residents can fill a bag with non-perishable and canned food items to place outside of their front doors by 9 a.m. Saturday. Scouts will then pick up bags to deliver to local food banks.

Scouting for Food is a project of the Boy Scouts of America and in Austin Girl Scouts and their adult volunteers are partners for the food drive.

About 500 volunteers hope to collect at least 30,000 pounds of food in Mower and Freeborn Counties Saturday.

The purpose of Scouting for Food, in addition to supporting local food banks, is to provide scouts the opportunity to better understand hunger issues in South Central Minnesota and realize that they can have an impact on the community.

To participate, set a bag of food out by 9 a.m. Saturday.