Cathy Aitken is always happy when someone calls to say they have donations to the Hereford Food Bank where she is volunteer director. But Sean McGlynn’s call made her ecstatic.

McGlynn and members of Boy Scout Troop 1908 collected 3,928 pounds of nonperishable foods and $2,023.

After the food and check were delivered Aug. 20, the shelves at the food bank at Hereford United Methodist Church were once again crammed with cereal, juice, soup, tuna and spaghetti.

“The things we got the most of were Rice-A-Roni, pancake mix and syrup, and pork and beans,” said McGlynn, who organized the food drive as his Eagle Scout community project. “I knew we’d get a lot and I was hoping for two tons. I weighed everything when we brought it home and it was just about that.”

McGlynn, a senior at Hereford High School who lives in Monkton, asked Scouts in his troop to accompany him to the Giant supermarkets in Hunt Valley and Timonium. About 30 Scouts, who meet at Camp Puh’tok in Monkton, spent one weekend at each store. They sat outside with an empty shopping cart and a sign that simply read “Food for the Community.” They also accepted money.

McGlynn said one man gave them a $50 bill and a woman wheeled over a shopping cart filled with bags of food. She kept two small bags off the top and gave them the cart.

The only glitch along the way was a woman who drove up and handed them canned meats that expired in the 1980s.

“I opened one just to see how bad it was, and it was rank,” said McGlynn, who checked expiration dates on all donated items before giving them to the food bank.

Aitken said the Hereford Food Bank served 38 families a year ago and that number has grown to 66 families.

“We’ve almost doubled our numbers and it will keep going up with people being laid off,” Aitken said.  “We’ve been buying food when our supplies are low, so now with so much food on hand, our money can go toward emergencies like paying electric bills when people get shut-off notices.”

She said North County has two food banks: Hereford’s and the North Cluster food bank at Pine Grove United Methodist Church, in Parkton. The Cluster gives food to about 60 families. Needy families go to one or the other, but not both.

McGlynn said many Eagle Scout candidates choose an outdoor task for their community project, but he decided to help those in need.

“No offense against outdoor projects, but making a bench for people to sit on doesn’t matter if the people sitting on it don’t have any food,” he said as he looked around at the filled food bank shelves. “All this will hopefully make a difference.”

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