The motto of the Boy Scouts is to “be prepared.”

And while no one can be fully prepared for a pandemic, 11-year-old Cranston Scout Jack Caito found a way to still participate in the annual Scouting for Food drive this year.

Jack is in the sixth grade at Western Hills Middle School and is a member of Troop 66 in Garden City. He is currently working toward his Tenderfoot rank and hopes to follow in his father’s footsteps as an Eagle Scout.

“Last year he received his Arrow of Light rank with Pac 6 Cub Scouts, as well as his Parvuli Dei [Catholic Religious Award],” his mom, Kate, proudly stated.

Jack decided that, since the Scouting for Food drive would not be held in its traditional form this year, he wanted to help those people that would be affected most.

“He spent an evening typing out a letter to the people in his neighborhood, Oak Hill Terrace. He then spent an afternoon passing out those flyers and a Sunday morning collecting what our neighbors had donated,” Kate said.

All food and money collected goes to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. The Scouting for Food drive typically accounts for a quarter of the Food Bank’s annual dry goods intake.

“We drove to the Rhode Island Food Bank Monday morning, and donated all that was collected on Sunday. Because we have such an amazing neighborhood, always willing to support each other, it filled my entire SUV, and when donated, translated to two pallets at the donation center. The Food Bank sent an email with the weight, 564 pounds,” Kate said.

Jack was very pleased and proud of his hard work paying off.

“I got to feed people who needed it, and it made me feel really good,” he said. “The Scouts weren’t doing Scouting for Food this year and it brings in a quarter of the year’s food, and that’s a lot of people who are going to be hungry. So I wanted to help them because it’s a tough year. I was surprised by how much food we got from only our neighborhood. It was a lot of work but it was worth it because I got to help people.”

For more information on ways to help, visit www.rifoodbank.org.