​Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive Delivers Over 54K Pounds of Food

From Stark Hunger Task Force: Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive May 13 delivered more than 54,000 pounds of food for the tables of the one in six county residents struggling to feed their families.

Donations for this 25th annual drive surpassed last year’s total by nearly 4,000 pounds of non-perishable food items, again demonstrating the generosity of the Stark County community.

Residents placed food donations by their mail boxes which were picked up by letter carriers and went directly to the shelves of Stark County Hunger Task Force’s network of more than 30 pantries.
During the past seven years, the drive spearheaded by AFL-CIO Hall of Fame Branch No. 238 letter carriers collected nearly 373,000 pounds of food.

“This time of year tends to be slow for donations, and the Stamp Out Hunger campaign gives our network of pantries a greatly needed boost to food on the shelves and ultimately to our neighbors struggling put food on the table,” said Ralph Norton, SCHTF assistant director.

“We absolutely appreciate the letter carriers and the US Postal Service for their dedication and hard work during this event, which provides wonderful support for our pantries as they distribute food to more than 29,000 of our neighbors every month,” said Norton.

“We salute every single postal worker for their dedication and good humor. The carriers and volunteer site coordinators did an outstanding job collecting and helping distribute the food,” added Maureen Tate, SCHTF executive director.

“We recognize all the extra work that picking up the food at the mail boxes and distributing it on return to the post offices makes for carriers.”

The local carriers join National Association of Letter Carriers nationwide in donating their time to pick up the food during their normal duties of delivering mail. This represents minimal expense to the Postal Service but a great benefit to residents in need in communities across the country.

Founded in 1981, Stark County Hunger Task Force at 408 9th St. SW, Canton, leads the battle against hunger in Stark County. Operating almost entirely on donations, SCHTF provides free groceries to an average of over 29,000 individuals every month through more than 30 food pantries, “Backpacks for Kids” programs and an emergency pantry. For more information, call330.455.6667 or visit SCHTF online at www.starkhunger.org.

Image courtesy of Stark Hunger Task Force