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Help Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger

Photo by Heather Ziegler Reminding the public to help stamp out hunger through the annual letter carriers food drive are from left, front Jordan Burress; back row, Ron Burns, postmaster; Jamie McKitrick, Seth Hill, Mickaela Gardner, Rick Foose, food drive coordinator, Elaine Haseleu, Kenton Bandy and Misty Rayl.

Local letter carriers will deliver more than the mail to thousands of homes and offices next weekend. They also will be collecting for the 27th annual National Association of Letter Carriers “Stamp Out Hunger” Food Drive.

At the main post office in Wheeling, National Association of Letter Carriers Food Drive Coordinator Rick Foose said the letter carriers will go the extra mile on Saturday, May 11 to collect non-perishable food items that will be delivered to Catholic Charities 18th Street Center for distribution to other local food banks and soup kitchens.

“Letter carriers walk through the community every day, often coming face-to-face with a sad reality for too many — hunger,” Foose said. “Our food drive’s timing is crucial. Food banks and pantries often receive the majority of their donations during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons. By springtime, many pantries are depleted, entering the summer low on supplies at a time when many school breakfast and lunch programs are not available to children in need.”

So, each year on the second Saturday of May, letter carriers across the country collect non-perishable food items. These donations go directly to local food pantries to provide food to help feed people most in need.

Foose noted the need for donations is great. Statistics show that 16 million children feel hunger’s impact on their overall health and ability to perform at school. And nearly 5 million seniors over the age of 60 are food insecure, with many who live on fixed incomes often too embarrassed to ask for help.

Last year, letter carriers across the country collected more than 71.6 million pounds of food, feeding an estimated 64 million people. Over the course of its 26-year history, the drive has collected well over 1 billion pounds of food nationwide.

Food donations should be placed in plastic bags next to your mailbox and the letter carriers will do the rest. Make sure items are in bags in case of rain. Popular items to donate include all types of canned foods, peanut butter, jelly, pancake mix and syrup, muffin mix, cereal, crackers, baby food, juice boxes, pudding cups, spaghetti and sauce, mac and cheese mix, and bagged snacks. Please do not donate expired food items.

Foose said the need for food donations remains high in the local area with fewer people donating.

Wheeling Postmaster Ron Burns encourages all to help the letter carriers make this another successful food drive.

“I’m proud of what they do and we certainly support them in the food drive,” Burns said.

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