NORTH BEND – Many youths in the Valley will be wearing a baseball cap and a Boy Scout hat this Saturday.

The annual Boy Scout Scouting for Food program will be gathering food donations on April 2, which is also Opening Day for the Snoqualmie Valley Little League. The ceremonies for Opening Day, which will be held at Torguson Park in North Bend, involve every Little League player in the league and organizers realized it would be a great opportunity to gather more food than ever before.

“Every year our boys go door-to-door with the Scouting for Food program but by allowing the scouts to participate in Opening Day, we accomplish two very important things: we can involve everyone who would like to participate and our Scouts get to experience what it is like when a whole community comes together for a very good cause,” said Karen Andring, Cub Scout Pack 452 leader.

In the past, Boy Scout, Cub Scout and Girl Scout groups have gathered together to get food for the program by canvassing neighborhoods in the Valley. There were only so many neighborhoods they could cover, however, and organizers also realized their planned day for the program always coincided with Little League’s Opening Day, putting even more strain on families trying to make both events.

So, this year the Scout groups and Little League organizers decided to get together and hold both events on the same day. Last weekend the Scout groups still went door-to-door to gather food, but they will also be at the Opening Day ceremonies this Saturday. Since Opening Day has also been a day for parents to sign their kids up for other activities such as junior football and soccer, it was only natural for parents to add another opportunity and get more family work done.

Scouting for Food has been a national program for the Boy Scouts since 1988. Like the previous eight years the program has been in the Valley, all donations will be going to the Mount Si Helping Hands Food Bank in North Bend. Ken McCarty, who heads the food bank, said the Scouting for Food drive is the second largest single-day event of the year for gathering food behind the Thanksgiving event QFC does. Valley Boy Scout leaders estimated that about 10,000 items have been donated over the past five years, and the Girl Scouts have also become involved.

“We live in a community that is so supportive of its Scouts and kids all year long. The Girl Scouts in particular really appreciate this opportunity to work with our Scouting brothers and to give something back to all our friends and neighbors,” said Lynn Wunder, Girl Scout Troop 1779 leader, in an e-mail.

Organizers are hoping the activities will bring out more than just Little League players and their families. Opening Day ceremonies will include a flag ceremony and an appearance by former Seattle Mariner Bill Krueger, who will make a short presentation and throw out the first pitch. Various games will be available for everyone to take part in.

“Like Alpine Days, it is one of the few days when the whole community can come together,” said Polly Breshears, president of Snoqualmie Valley Little League.

* Cub Scout Pack 452, Boy Scout Troop 466 and Girl Scout Troop 1779 will be gathering food donations at the Opening Day ceremonies for Snoqualmie Valley Little League from 8:45-10:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 2, at Torguson Park in North Bend. Scouts will have a booth set up in a grassy area next to the parking lot for people to drop their donations off before parking and attending Opening Day activities.

Editor Ben Cape can be reached at (425) 888-2311 or by e-mail at ben.cape@valleyrecord.com.