Gladys Henson of Yokefellow Co-Operative Ministry in Mount Airy sorts items collected by local postal workers during last year’s food drive.
Postal workers are known for delivering the mail through snow, sleet, rain and hail — and the same perseverance is applied toward collecting food for the needy.
This Saturday, local mail carriers will put the stamp on an annual program that results in thousands of pounds of non-perishable items for distribution by Yokefellow Co-Operative Ministry of Mount Airy.
“The carriers are delivering bags all week,” said Judy Hughes, a postal supervisor in the Mount Airy Post Office.
“There will be 11 city carriers and 14 rural carriers,” Hughes said of those involved.
The hope of the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive of the National Association of Letter Carriers is that local residents fill up the bags with items that the mail carriers will pick up along their routes Saturday. More than 15,000 pounds resulted from the effort in 2012.
“We’ve done it for several years,” Hughes said of local postal employees’ participation in Food Drive Day, now in its 21st year nationally.
In addition to collecting food from homes, a container is located in the Mount Airy Post Office where items can be dropped off during business hours all this week.
“It stays local,” Hughes said of all the food collected, which will be taken to Yokefellow’s facility on Jones School Road and given to needy persons.
“Unfortunately, the need in the area continues to be great,” a Yokefellow representative said Tuesday.
Hughes said persons interested in volunteering for the food drive can call her at 786-2805.
Information from a regional postal official in Greensboro said certain items are especially sought.
The list includes canned meals such as stews, soups, tuna, ravioli and others, preferably with pop-tops; peanut butter; cereal; canned fruits and vegetables; rice, pasta and dry beans; hygiene items such as toothpaste, soap and shaving supplies; paper products including toilet paper and paper towels; and infant supplies such as diapers, wipes, formula and baby cereal.
Reach Tom Joyce at 719-1924 or tjoyce@civitasmedia.com.
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