More than 12,000 pounds of food was collected, delivered and sorted at three local food collection sites in Greene County on Saturday -- all thanks to the efforts of local Boy Scouts.

Each of the 25 local Boy Scout units took part in the food drive, which was part of the annual regional "Scouting for Food" Good Turn Project headed by the Sequoyah Council of the Boy Scouts of America and sponsored by Food City.

The Greeneville-Greene County Community Ministries Food Bank received 8,190 pounds of food, according to Scout leader Milton Parham.

At least 2,000 pounds of food was collected in the Mosheim area and delivered to Mosheim Outreach, Parham said.

And, in the Baileyton area, a total of nearly 1,900 pounds of food was collected and delivered to the North Greene Community Ministries, he said.

A few Scouts in Greene County also delivered food to a Rogersville food distribution site, Parham added. He did not have a total, however, for the Rogersville site.

Alan Pickle, a local Scout leader with Troop 94, said on Saturday morning that the Scouts "get extra excited about participating in this food drive each year."

One of the best parts of the event, Pickle said, was seeing how Scouts of all ages - from the youngest Tiger Cubs to the older Boy Scouts -- all get involved in the drive.

Pickle said that there are also former Scouts who return each year just to help out with the event.

Last year, the Scouts in Greene County collected nearly 15,000 pounds of food for these agencies.

The project annually collects more than 200,000 cans of food in the 16 counties covered by the Sequoyah Council.

The drive started two weekends ago, as Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and volunteers visited neighborhoods throughout Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia to deliver more than 150,000 bags provided by Food City.

The bags included a list of suggested food items to donate.

Scouts began collecting the food at 8 a.m. on Saturday, and delivered the items to the area food collection centers throughout the morning.

There the food was sorted and stored. It will then be distributed to needy people in each community.

The Good Turn project is part of a nationwide outreach undertaken by the Boy Scouts, which has more than five million members.

Food City has served as the sponsor in the Sequoyah Council region since the project's beginning in 1988, and has provided the bags as well as physical and financial support.