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___________________________________________________ Major local sponsors - 2013 ___________________________________________________
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May 2013 - What weighs 87,483 pounds and can help feed hungry Hoosiers? Canned veggies and fruits, rice, pasta, cereal, crackers, juice, and other nutritious food collected by the National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 828 letter carriers during the 2013 Stamp Out Hunger food drive! Representing a nearly 6% increase over the amount collected last year, event organizers, including United Way, send a heartfelt thanks to all who donated.
On Saturday, May 11, 2013 letter carriers and volunteers collected bags of healthy, non-perishable donated food people placed by their mailboxes. Donations were delivered to the Post Office where they were sorted and then taken to local food pantries to feed hungry Hoosiers.
Stamp Out Hunger is the largest, single-day food drive in the nation. The local area served by NALC Branch 828 stretches from Martinsville to Paoli and from Nashville to Linton.
According to Dory Watkins, NALC Branch 828 Food Drive Coordinator, “Each spring, the NALC Branch 828 letter carriers are devoted to helping end hunger in our communities through the Stamp Out Hunger national food drive. The bags of food we collect at each mailbox will help nourish needy neighbors and our team is honored to serve our community in this expanded way. And on the second Saturday in May, our regional letter carriers did a great job of showing that we delivered more than mail -- we also delivered over 87,000 pounds of foods to help hungry residents.”
The Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is very important to local pantries and neighbors in need. In the spring, food supplies are typically lower. As schools let out for the summer, the need for additional food is greater since young students don't have access to free or reduced breakfast and lunch programs. And locally, 1 in 5 children are at risk of going hungry.
Julio Alonso, Hoosier Hills Food Bank Executive Directer, shared the importance of Stamp Out Hunger. “We are so grateful to the community and to our letter carrier partners who come through for us every year with this food drive. Our shelves go from empty to full overnight and it’s hard to express how much impact Stamp Out Hunger really has. It’s a continuing challenge to meet what has been a very high demand for food among our partner agencies, and this event makes a huge difference. Our community sends a message with this food drive and the letter carriers deliver it – we won’t allow our neighbors to go hungry.”
In our region, 1 in 6 people are at risk of hunger and one-third of these neighbors are not income-eligible for federal nutrition program. This means they rely more on access to healthy, nutritious food from pantries and kitchens.
”United Way is proud to be a Stamp Out Hunger food drive partner and I am privileged to work alongside NALC Branch 828 to provide this community service each year,” commented Liz Feitl, AFL-CIO Community Services Liaison. “As the largest single-day food drive -- both locally and nationally -- this effort helps feed so many in our communities. And it goes hand-in-hand with United Way’s goal of ensuring our neighbors have access to the essentials, such as nutritious food. It’s heartwarming to watch donated food arrive from Letter Carriers and volunteers throughout the day. This generosity of neighbors will benefit many people in need, including union members and families served by the White River Central Labor Council during times of plant closures and layoffs.”
In Monroe County, 38,680 pounds were collected and given to the Hoosier Hills Food Bank. Food collected outside Monroe County was donated to numerous agencies serving their local communities.
Pounds of food donated by these outstanding communities:
Bedford: 17,687
Bloomfield: 1,072
Bloomington: 34,206
Cloverdale: 493
Ellettsville: 4,204
French Lick: 57
Linton: 4,288
Martinsville: 11,500
Mitchell: 4,124
Morgantown: 2,500
Nashville: 1,072
Odon: 211
Orleans: 1,000
Paoli: 1,782
Paragon: 500
Quincy: 380
Spencer: 1,616
Unionville: 270
Worthington: 521
Thanks to everyone who donated... You are helping end hunger in South Central Indiana!
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A BIG THANKS to Our Sponsors and Supporters!
The Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive would like to thank our supporters:
Major local sponsors & participants:
NALC Branch 828
U. S. Postal Service
NRLCA (rural carriers)
United Way of Monroe County
Hoosier Hills Food Bank
HoosierTimes
Kroger
JayC
Additional local participants:
Stone Belt
Comcast
SCI Kiwanis Club
Bedford Lions Club
White River Central Labor Council
National sponsors:
Campbell's
Feeding America
AFL-CIO
AARP
United Way of America
Contact Us
For general questions: Dory Watkins & Jerry Sutherlin, 2013@stampouthungersci.org (Branch 828 Food Drive Coordinators)
To volunteer or host a food drive:
• Lawrence County: Jan Allen, bedford2013@stampouthungersci.org
• Linton: Mary Ison, linton2013@stampouthungersci.org
• Martinsville: Ted Graphman, martinsville2013@stampouthungersci.org
• Monroe County: Liz Feitl, (812)334-8370, blmgtn2013@stampouthungersci.org (AFL-CIO Community Service Liaison, United Way of Monroe County)
• Hoosier Hills Food Bank: Katie Haddad, volunteer@hhfoodbank.org
The local NALC South Central Indiana Branch 828 Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive includes all communities with city delivery in Greene, Lawrence, Monroe and Owen Counties. It also includes Martinsville, Odon, Orleans, and Paoli. Branch 828 also assists with the Food Drive in additional communities that do not have city delivery.