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Letter carrier food drive is Saturday

This year most of the towns in the county and surrounding area will participate in the annual 23rd annual Letter Carriers’ Food Drive Saturday, May 9.

Ed Halsey, president of the local National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 3836, said all the food collected by the carriers stays local. For example, the Randolph Baptist Association’s Food Bank will receive some of the food, the Soup Kitchen in Roanoke, and Community Life in Roanoke. They will divide the collection into thirds for each group.

Also participating will be Wadley, Woodland, Wedowee, Daviston, Ranburne, and Graham. Whatever they collect will be distributed in their areas, he said.

Halsey asked that residents put the cans and other non-perishables into the mailbox or beside it. Those delivering mail expect to distribute bags Thursday or Friday and pick up the donations during their deliveries Saturday. The Help Us Stamp Out Hunger food drive is always the second Saturday in May.

He asked that people donate whatever they can.

He said they appreciate those who support them and donate non-perishable canned goods and other items. Anything is welcome.

However, they have to spend time culling out any out-of-date items and asked those not be donated as well as glass containers. The food will go to those in the local area to help them out, he said.

Suggested items are canned meats, fish, soup, juice, vegetables, pasta, cereal, peanut butter and rice.

“We never know when things might go wrong in our homes and we might need the help,” Halsey said. This is one way to express love for one another,  he said.

One of the partners in this nationwide drive, the nation’s largest single-day food drive, is Feeding America. According to this organization one in six Americans face hunger. Nearly 16 million children go to bed hungry. It states 46.5 million Americans rely on the Feeding America nationwide network of food banks each year.

Other sponsors are the United States Postal Service, the AFL-CIO, the National Rural Letter Carriers Association, Valpak, Valassis and United Way Worldwide.

The work of the letter carriers in Roanoke and Woodland in 2013, for example, brought in more than 6,500 pounds of food.

“Letter carriers are honored to be able to help people in need,” NALC President Fredric Rolando said. “We see the needs in the communities we serve, and we believe it’s important to help meet those needs.”

Information from the NALC says hunger affects about 49 million people around the country, including millions of children and senior citizens. And one in four households with a member currently serving in the U.S. military turns to a food bank for food assistance.

The 280,000-member NALC represents city letter carriers across the country employed by the U.S. Postal Service, along with retired letter carriers. Founded by Civil War veterans in 1889, the NALC is among the country’s oldest labor unions.

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