Jordan Peters was stuck in the bed of a pickup truck going through the same routine. See a bag. Pick up a bag. Place it on the truck. Nearby, his brother, Josh Peters, retrieved the plastic grocery bags with items inside that later would be separated and counted. The work may have been tedious at times, but it also offered a rewarding experience for area youth. The significance of Saturday's annual Scouting for Food campaign was not lost on the brothers, members of Pack 22, in Warrenton. "It's important especially with this economy," said Josh Peters. "Everybody is losing their jobs." The nationwide event is billed as the "largest one-day food drive." More than 24,000 items were dropped off at four food pantries located in the county. Throughout the St. Louis metro area, more than 30,000 Scouts collected 2.1 million cans of food during the 25th annual event. Last week, the Scouts placed plastic grocery bags on doorknobs to inform residents about the annual food drive. Residents were asked to donate nonperishable food items liked canned vegetables, soup or pasta. Others included items such as toilet paper, toothpaste and deodorant. Over the past year area pantries - two operated by Agape Ministry in Warrenton and Wright City, the Southern Warren County Food Pantry in Marthasville and the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry housed at Holy Rosary Catholic School - have continued to face high demand. A year ago at this time, the county's unemployment rate was 7.8 percent. Last month, the mark was 11.1 percent. "This is probably the biggest thing we can do for the community," said Micah Johnson, a member of Pack 22. "It's extremely important. It has its place. It's something we need to do." Communities throughout Warren County certainly did their part to help restock the shelves. "A lot of houses had two or three extra bags," Josh Peters said. Between unloading pickups, the Scouts helped food pantry volunteers organize the food items. "It's fun," said Briant Cummings, a member of Cub Scout Pack 835 in Wright City. Kathy Ellis, assistant Cub master for Troop 835, added: "Community service is a huge part of the Cub Scouts. If we can teach the boys, hopefully it will continue when they are adults. This one event is huge for the Scouts." At Agape Ministry's location in Wright City, 8,881 items were donated, doubling the amount received a year ago. In Warrenton, 4,500 items were received, a drop from 2008. Kathleen Purcell, Agape executive director, expressed her thanks to the Scouts and area residents for their continued generosity. "We understand times are hard for everyone," she said. "We are grateful for everything we got. This should take us through January and the Christmas season." The St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry also reported a significant decrease from last year when 600 more cans were received. However, volunteer Joyce Hollaway acknowledged an extra troop did not drop off items this year at the pantry.   Nonetheless, Hollaway said the 5,443 items collected on Saturday should last five to six months. "This helps tremendously," she said. "It's huge." The Southern Warren County Food Pantry, housed at St. Paul's United Church of Christ, received more than 5,800 items. Any local resident who failed to have their donations picked up can drop off their items at the Agape location in Warrenton, located at 713 Powell. The items will be added to the Scouts' count, Purcell said.