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Last updated on Thursday, April 28, 2016
(BEDFORD) - The 2016 Letter Carriers’ “Stamp Out Hunger” Food Drive is set for May 14.
Jan Allen, a retired postal worker who helps spearhead the drive each spring, says letter carriers will pick up donations of nonperishable food left by postal patrons at mailboxes throughout the region.
Food collected in Mitchell will be given to Lawrence InterFaith Endeavor's Mitchell food pantry. Heltonville post office will distribute food to food pantries in that area, and the remainder food collected in Lawrence County will be distributed equally among three local pantries: Community Care, LIFE pantry's Bedford office, and God's Place.
Any food collected on Monday, May 16 will be offered to Becky's Place women's shelter.
LARC clients have been busy folding the 26,000 grocery bags donated by Jay C, which they will staple to reminder postcards placed in mailboxes.
Several postal workers volunteer on their day off or after their workday and members of the Bedford Lions Club will also assist in picking up food and receiving ir at the post office, where food donations are weighed and tallied before distribution.
The JA Benefits parking lot near the Bedford post office will serve as a staging area for the food pantries' trucks.
The annual event began in October 1991 as a pilot program and 10 cities participated. The national drive commenced in 1993 and food donations of more than 11 million pounds were collected. The record total is 77.1 million pounds in 2010.
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