Apr 28, 2011 2 min read

The 19th annual National Association of Letters Carriers Stamp Out Hunger National Food Drive will be held Saturday, May 14.

Those who want to participate are asked to put some non-perishable food items in a bag and place it near their mailboxes. Letter carriers will pick up the food and deliver it to local food banks, including Fayette County Community Action Agency (FCCAA) Inc.’s food bank.

?”We participate in this event every year,” said Jamie Brink, project manager of FCCAA’s food bank. “This is a very worthwhile cause because so many people in our community are in desperate need of help right now. With the downturn in the economy and the high unemployment rate, we have been seeing people at the food bank that we have never seen in the past.”

Letter carriers at the post offices in Brownsville, Carmichaels, Connellsville, Dunbar, Fairchance, Hopwood, Masontown, Point Marion and Uniontown will be collecting food.

“We are calling upon the giving spirit of our patrons to aid us in restocking our local food banks and pantries,” said Karen Kapel, Branch 250 food drive chairwoman.

Most-needed items include peanut butter, tuna fish, hot or cold cereals, pudding, canned vegetables and fruit, and non-food items like diapers, toothpaste and toilet paper.

Letter carriers are volunteering their time on their day off to assist in picking up the donated food items.

Letter carriers will collect the bags and deliver the food to the Fayette County Community Action Agency Food Bank for distribution to those in need through the food bank’s network of food pantries, soup kitchens and day care centers.

Locally, letter carriers have collected more than 30,000 pounds of food during this one-day drive. Local residents are asked to help the letter carriers of Branch 520 increase their donations and “stamp” out hunger.

For more information, call Kapel at the Uniontown Post Office at 724-438-2523 or Brink at 724-437-6050, extension 1264.