Area Scouts will go door to door collecting food on Saturday as part of the annual Scouting for Food project.

The goal is to collect 4,000 pounds of food, which will go to support the Ecumenical Food Pantry and Albert Lea Salvation Army, according to a news release.

“As a Scout we want them to be good citizens in our community and learn about how good it feels to volunteer,” said Gina Wadding, chairwoman of the program.

The Scouts will start collecting at about 9 a.m. in Albert Lea and a few surrounding communities. People are encouraged to leave bags of nonperishable food items outside by their front door in the plastic grocery bags left at each home this week.

The bags were delivered in the Freeborn County Shopper in Albert Lea, Glenville, Twin Lakes, Emmons and Hayward, and were delivered and hung on doors in Alden, Conger and Clarks Grove.

Items especially needed are macaroni, cooking oil, crackers, cake mixes and cookies, boxed meals, canned goods, jello and pudding mixes, paper goods and toiletry items, according to the release.

Scouts are also working with area businesses to collect food from employees and the public. Hy-Vee and Nelson’s Market Place are supporting the food drive by allowing customers to purchase pre-bagged food or to scan a coupon for food that can be delivered to the food shelves.

Community members can also drop off food or monetary donations at either food shelf. The donations come during what is Minnesota FoodShare’s March campaign.

Wadding said area Scouts collected almost 3,500 pounds of food in 2013 and raised as much as 6,000 pounds in 2011.

Scouting for Food began across the nation in the 1980s, when Scouts collected an estimated 65 million cans of nonperishable food. It has since grown into an annual event.