Church pantry ‘souper’ stocked after third annual scavenger hunt

The food pantry at Our Lady of Lourdes church in Malverne is now nicely stocked after the village’s third annual Souper Scavenger Hunt. Originally set for March 31 but postponed due to inclement weather, the event kicked off at noon on May 12.

Led by Youth Ministry Coordinator Linda Baldacchino, who partnered with the Malverne Civic Association, the Souper Scavenger Hunt featured six teams — Piggy Penny, Team Swag, Gumballs, Souper Dupers, Blue People and TJM — all of which walked or drove along the streets of Malverne accepting food donations to help stock up their local food pantry. Malverne Village Hall and Woodmans of the World also made donations to the hunt.

Participating teams collected as many donations as possible in their designated territory. According to Baldacchino, the village was divided into 13 sections, each one assigned to a different team. “This year, not all the sections were covered,” she explained, noting that only six teams participated.

Teams set out knocking door-to-door, or collecting the bags of non-perishable items left outside of homes by residents wishing to contribute. All teams on foot were equipped with wagons to cart back their findings. Once all the items for that designated area had been collected, the groups made their way back to the pantry to tally up their points and grab some refreshments and small snacks.

All items were separated and put into plastic crates for weighing. Every pound of food gave the team one point. Bonus items were also placed in crates and weighed at two points per pound.

“Canned tuna, peanut butter, jelly, snacks and canned fruit are bonus items and worth double the points,” Baldacchino said. “These are bonus items because the pantry goes through these the fastest.”

Points for regular and bonus foods were tallied per team. First place went to the Souper Doupers. The Gumballs came in second place, and the Blue People came in third. All winning teams were given gift certificates to various Malverne businesses.

Some teams voluntarily went back for a second run after the initial weigh ins to complete collections in those areas of the village that were not originally covered by a team. In total, teams collected approximately 1,000 pounds of food, Baldacchino said.

Being involved since the launch of the event, Baldacchino said she is proud to have brought the event to the community. The event has also generated the attention of children and teenagers who attend local schools. This year participating teams consisted of several Girl Scout troops, parish kids and children from local Malverne schools.

“I’ve done this all three years,” she explained. “ I did it two years with my youth ministry kids, we just took a section and did it. They had so much fun. And, people are so generous and so willing to give.”