It takes a day for the noodles to dry.
It requires a half day to get everything prepared for the Boy Scout Troop and Pack 184 annual chili and chicken noodle soup dinner scheduled Feb. 3 at the Elks Lodge in Great Bend.
Teamwork was the operative word of the day Saturday as Boy Scouts and their parents pitched in for all the details of the operation.
Boy Scout Scoutmaster Darrell Mitchell said everyone enjoyed their fellowship of working together.
“We had more than 40 people helping,” he said. “Everybody has their own job to do. Everyone was very helpful and kept busy the whole time. It was really a good day.”
The Boy Scouts will prepare 140 gallons of chili and gallons of chicken noodle soup that will feed between 600 and 800 customers.
Mitchell said the 11 Boy Scouts and 38 Cub Scouts receive credit for tickets sold to the chili and chicken noodle dinner. The Boy Scout troop will attend summer camp at Kerwin Lake north of Hays. The Cub Scouts are ages 6 to 11. The Boys Scouts are ages 11 to 18.
“The boys get out and sell their tickets and it helps if they sell some gallon tickets,” he said. “The money goes into their individual accounts to help pay for summer camp.”
Mitchell said he’s appreciative of the support the Boy Scouts receive. He said Stafford County Flour Mills from Hudson donates 200 pounds of flour for the cooking. The Boy Scouts purchase their eggs from Cal-Maine near Chase and other items are bought from Dillons, Ellinwood Packing and Cisco.  
The 42nd Annual Chili and Chicken Noodle Soup Dinner is scheduled from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 3 at the Elks Lodge, 1120 Kansas Ave. The final preparation work will be done Feb. 2 when the chicken is cooked.  
The $6 dinner offers dine-in and carry-out orders that include chili or chicken noodles, a dessert and a drink.
Gallons of chili for $18 and gallons of chicken noodles for $12 will be available for purchase.