News & Events Links
News
Large food drive to benefit local agencies
May 22, 2009
By Jason Niblett, newseditor@laurelleadercall.com
April 23, 2009 10:24 am
— Helping out is as easy as going to the mailbox, but the impact means the world to people who just lost a house to a fire or tornado.
The National Association of Letter Carriers’ 17th annual ‘Stamp Out Hunger’ food drive is coming up May 9. Traditionally, the food drive is the largest one-day drive in the United States with more than 70 million pounds of food collected on average.
Locally, the food drive in Jones County collects an average of 40,000 pounds of food. Letter carriers work on average an extra two or three hours that day to help make sure the food gets in the hands of people who have the greatest need. They are joined with other volunteers for sorting the food.
“It’s going to local residents,” Red Cross disaster services coordinator Matt Everette said. “It helps us with fire families and disaster victims.”
People in Laurel, Ellisville, Waynesboro and the rural areas surrounding Laurel are encouraged to pick up a couple extra cans or boxes of nonperishable food during a trip to the grocery store for the food drive. Or, some extra cans or boxes can often be found in one’s cabinet. Either way, people should know the food goes to many agencies to help people in the immediate area. Food collected will help stock the shelves of four local United Way partner agencies: Pine Belt Chapter of the American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, Domestic Abuse Family Shelter, and The Arc/Jones County, Inc.
Traditionally, pantries for these agencies run low at this time of the year. Everette said the food drive helps the agencies have enough food for several months.
“It will usually cover us until Christmas,” he said.
“When we have families come to us for assistance after suffering a fire loss, giving them a box of food with staple items like rice, flour, and canned vegetables is one of the ways we help them,” Peggy Owens-Mansfield, executive director for the Pine Belt Chapter of the American Red Cross, said.
To make a donation, people should simply place the items in a bag and hang it from mailboxes or on a porch for collection by the letter carriers. United Way Executive Director Barbara Johnson expressed her gratitude to USPS employees for their help.
“We truly appreciate our postal carriers and their willingness to help with the food drive. They work at least two to three extra hours on the day of the food drive and deserve a pat on the back along with a sincere thank you for a job well done,” she said.
There is also a great need for volunteers to help sort the items. High school students desiring community service hours, groups and churches, or anyone else interested in volunteering are encouraged to contact one of the above agencies to express interest in helping.
In this file photo from 2008, volunteers help unload donated food after area letter carriers collected nonperishable items from area donors.
Get Involved
