Local letter carriers say it’s time to clean out your pantries. The 26th Annual National Association of Letter Carriers’ Food Drive is set for Saturday (May 12, 2018). Locally, Jean Faw of NALC Branch 825 says donating is easy. ‘’Simply place non-perishable food items – such as canned soup, fruit and vegetables, peanut butter, tuna, macaroni or cereal out by your mailbox early on the morning of (Saturday) May 12th. Your letter carrier will pick up your donation while they make their regular rounds.’’
Chuck Brooks, Chairman of the Danville Area Food Pantry, says ‘’the food collected on this one day is enough to last us for a month. What the letter carriers collect on Saturday is sorted and in the families hands that need it by Monday.’’ And Brooks thanked the letter carriers, rural carriers, post offices and the community for all their help.
‘’All of the food raised during this drive stays in our community,’’ he added.
Letter carriers in the Danville, Tilton, Westville, Georgetown, Oakwood, Catlin and Bismarck areas will be participating, along with letter carriers from across the nation. If you are unsure whether your post office is participating you can call your local post office.
Faw says the amount of food collected locally has increased each year. But Brooks notes so has the need. He says local food pantries have seen an ever-growing number of families, proportionate to the amount of joblessness in the area. In addition, with rising prices, more and more families – even working families – find themselves needing to turn to food pantries to fill the gaps. Brooks says some families are often forced to choose between paying bills or buying groceries. He says the food provided by local pantries – such as the Danville Area Food Pantry – help extend the budgets of hundreds of local families.
