Brad Tate, Lawrence, unloads donated food items from the 22nd Scouting for Food drive at the Salvation Army on Saturday. Penn House volunteer Rebecca Frazier holds an umbrella as volunteers delivered food gathered by Boy Scout troops.

For Lawrence’s Boy Scout Troop 60, Saturday’s miserable weather didn’t come close in keeping them away from their annual food drive.

Three weeks ago, the group was camping in a snowstorm, and 11-year-old Jake Keary’s first camping trip was in below-zero temperatures.

“We just improvise,” 12-year-old troop historian Steven Ozaki said of poor weather conditions.

During Saturday’s sleet and rain, the group arrived at the Salvation Army with a cargo trailer and truckload full of bags with Ramen noodles, brownie mixes, crackers, pastas and hundreds of other nonperishable food items. The goods came from homes they visited in North Lawrence that morning.

“It feels good to help out other people,” first-year Boy Scout Will Schrader said.

The boys were among the roughly 30 troops and packs that spent Saturday morning gathering food donations from Lawrence households. The efforts were part of the 22nd annual Scouting-For-Food event. Similar food drives took place in Eudora and Baldwin City.

The Lawrence group brought in more than 3,400 items, which will be distributed to area food banks.

Bob Lemmons, who was helping Cub Scout Pack 3071, said the community’s response wasn’t dampened by the weather. That morning, he received calls from residents wanting to know if the food drive was still a go. The pack ended up with two truckloads full of food.

“I didn’t know what to expect, but the turnout was really good, and the guys had fun playing in the ice,” Lemmons said.

As one of the last big collection efforts before summer, the food drive is crucial to area food banks, Salvation Army social worker Holly Hulburt said.

“By August we are running very low to empty, so it’s important to stock as much as we can before the summer months,” he said.