By Tim Leeds
Jennifer Shakal has combined Girl Scout ideals with a rummage sale and the Havre Food Bank.
Shakal has chosen to benefit the Food Bank with her project to earn her Gold Award, the highest award in Girl Scouts.
She is collecting donations of items which she will sell at a rummage sale Friday and Saturday, Oct. 20 and 21, in the basement of the VFW Club from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. She said the club has donated the use of the basement for her project on the two days.
Instead of purchasing the items for cash, customers will pay in food items. Shakal will then donate the food to the Food Bank, and any items remaining after the sale to the Salvation Army.
She has a "point list" of the value of different items. A sample of the list includes baby food, ramen noodles or 8 -ounce cans of tomato sauce, which are worth one-half point; 16-ounce vegetables, pork and beans, pasta or most dried vegetables are worth one point; 6-ounce tuna, Rice-A-Roni, or 16-ounce lima beans are worth one-and-a-half points,; 16-ounce boxed rice, 15-ounce Chef Boyardee or 32-ounce grape jelly are worth two points; 16-ounce chili, ready to eat soup, 5 pounds of sugar and 46-ounce juice are worth two-and-a-half points; 2 pounds of pancake or biscuit mix, 18 ounces of peanut butter and 32 ounces of mayonnaise are worth three points; 15 ounces of cereal or 16 ounces of snack crackers are worth three-and-a-half points, and a 10-serving package of hot cereal or 9.6 ounces of powdered milk is worth four points.
Items will be priced as a rummage sale with one point being about one dollar. She said clothes will be about one-half to one point, and she has some furniture items at five points.
Shakal, who is in her eighth year in the Girl Scouts, said she had to find a community-minded project to earn her Gold Award with. She has to log at least 50 hours on the project.
She said the Food Bank seems really short on food right now, and she wanted to find some way to raise some food for the bank. She said she helps with the firefighters' food drive every year and has been involved in the bank that way before.
Anyone interested in donating items to Shakal's charity project can contact her at 265-9710.
