Gouverneur Eagle Scout, church team up to tackle hunger

GOUVERNEUR — Matthew R. Miller's Eagle Scout project is to feed the hungry.

With the help of First United Methodist Church on Grove Street — where he and his family are members and which sponsors Boy Scout Troop 21— Matthew, 15, arranged to have a soup-and-sandwich feed on three Saturdays in January, February and March, when money is tight because of the extra cost of heating.

"It's a time when everyone is down and struggling," Matthew said. "As an Eagle Scout project, we're supposed to help the community."

Church secretary Sheri D. Holmes said the meals were timed for the end of the month, when money is often at its shortest.

"That's when it's most difficult for people," she said.

Matthew first thought of a Thanksgiving meal, but learned the church already does that. Instead, he went with the three meals, working with both adult and teenage volunteers.

"I've learned that a lot of people appreciate the fact we're doing this," he said. "I've learned I have friends that are there for me."

With the help of his mother and father, Robert, the troop's den leader, Matthew went to local and Watertown businesses for donations of cash and food.

The first meal attracted 11 walk-ins and 113 deliveries. The second meal brought in 30 diners and about 140 deliveries.

Matthew said he hopes the third meal, scheduled from 4 to 7 p.m. March 27, is the best yet.

The meal features several kinds of soup, including a macaroni/hamburger variety made by his grandmother, Donna L. Sinclair, that was a big hit, and three kinds of sandwiches.

The deliveries were a learning experience for the Scouts from Troop 21 who brought in the meals with adult volunteers.

"They're not used to seeing that kind of environment," said Matthew's mother, Kelley M. "They don't realize there's that many needy in our little village."