Smartly outfitted with a plastic food-serving glove and a coonskin hat, 7-year-old Cub Scout Thomas Goggans smiled as he repeatedly took fistfuls of chips and stuffed them into plastic baggies. By Monday, those chips will be in the hands of a hungry child in Floyd County.

“I felt like I was really helping the needy,” said Thomas. “I’m helping the people who don’t have homes or food.”

More than 80 Cub Scouts descended upon Lock & Dam Park on Thursday for Twilight Camp, a summer camp tradition that poses several activities for the young scouts.

Along with archery and acting, the scouts focused their efforts into packaging cookies and chips into meal bags to help with the Smart Kid, Smart Lunch initiative launched by Action Ministries Inc.

In its third week, the program’s goal is to provide a nutritious lunch to hundreds of children who are in “food-insecure” homes in Floyd County each week this summer, according to Dawn Treglown, program coordinator for Rome and Floyd County.

“They have been a tremendous supporter,” said Treglown.

The scouts hand-illustrated the brown paper meal sacks that will soon be distributed to more than 500 children in need. The bags will then go on to other volunteers who will pack drinks, sandwiches and other items into the meal.

“People from all walks of life have literally poured their hearts out,” she said.

Treglown said the program is growing exponentially, and she hopes for it to expand to Polk and Chattooga counties by next summer.