Over the course of its 26-year history, the United States Post Office’s (USPS) Letter Carrier’s Stamp Out Hunger food drive has collected 1.5 billion pounds of food, with the assistance of the postal service delivery network that spans the nation, including Puerto Rico, Guam and U.S. Virgin Islands.
This year in Findlay, the Stamp Out Hunger food drive overseen by the local USPS AFL-CIO chapter, will enlist United Way of Hancock County’s help with coordinating volunteers for the effort. Up to 30 volunteers will be working alongside letter carriers collecting donations throughout Findlay.
To donate food for the food drive, donors are asked to leave non-perishable food items in a plastic or paper bag by the home’s mailbox by 8 a.m. on May 12. Local letter carriers and volunteers will pick up the items. Donations can also be dropped off in the back parking lot of Great Scot on W. Main Cross on this same date from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Great Scot Community Market at 301 W. Main Cross St. will have bags of food available for $5 each on Saturday. The bags will contain nonperishable food appropriate for the food drive. Bags can be purchased and taken directly to the drop off location in the Great Scot parking lot.
The food will be processed for safety by West Ohio Food Bank and then returned to the food pantries in Hancock County.
According to Feeding America, the nation’s largest food-relief organization, one out of nearly eight individuals in Hancock County can be identified as food insecure. The Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive was initially formed to address the needs of food pantries who often receive their largest donations during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season. By the spring and summer, when school breakfasts and lunches are no longer available to students receiving assistance, these pantries would often be low on supply and high on demand.
For more information about either event, contact Heather Heilman at 4219-423-1432 or heather.heilman@uwhancock.org.