CHAMPION — Remember the 36-foot B.A. Snowman on Route 126 last month? The warm weather may have left him wilting, but his good will this winter will spread throughout the north country.

“We received over 500 pounds of donated food,” said Vernon A. Scoville, who hosted the snowman on his front lawn.

Family and friends built the snowman just before the first of the year. While they have built the snowman in the past, this was the first time the Scoville family turned the attraction into a community service project.

A sign asked visitors to leave nonperishable food donations in the bottom tire of the snowman’s “buttons.”

“(My daughter) said, ‘Let’s put (our goal) up to 500 (pounds) on top,’ and I said, ‘Whatever,’” Mr. Scoville said. “When she put that sign out, I thought ... we’ll never get to that, but I think we did.”

He said everyone involved in the project was shocked by how many people stopped to make donations.

Mr. Scoville said that after only three weeks, the family was able to meet the goal of 500 pounds of food.

“Think of how much we could raise if he had lasted until April,” said daughter Maureen.

On Wednesday, the donations were delivered to the Community Action Planning Council of Jefferson County’s food pantry in Watertown and to the Lowville Food Pantry at 7646 Forrest Ave., Lowville.

“They were real thankful for it, so hopefully it went to good use,” Mr. Scoville said.

He and his family intend to hold the food collection next year, with the hope of an even larger turnout.

“Next year, everybody will know ahead of time,” Mr. Scoville said. “We just want to thank the people for their donations, thank the people that made the snowman.”

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