Life

Letter carriers collect food Saturday

Volunteers pitch in during last year's food drive. This year's event takes place on Saturday.

By Bill Moss, Published: May 10, 2012

This Saturday, May 12, Henderson County will celebrate its 20th year collecting food for the community during the Letter Carriers Food Drive.

Across Henderson County and throughout the nation, Letter Carriers will be gathering non-perishable food while delivering the mail this Saturday. Postal customers are asked to leave a box or bag by their mailboxes: suggested items include canned soups, meats, fish, vegetables, fruits and juices; or boxed goods like cereal, rice and pasta. This year's goal is to collect 40,000 pounds of food for distribution through local food pantries.

 

As the postal carriers return from their routes, volunteers organized by Interfaith Assistance Ministry, The Salvation Army, and United Way of Henderson County will unload, sort, and package the donated food for MANNA Food Bank. MANNA will then redistribute the food to local food banks here in Henderson County.

This year's food drive comes as hunger continues to make news in our community. North Carolina has the third highest food insecurity rate in the nation at 18.2%, while Henderson County's rate stands at 15.1%. That equates to 16,184 of our residents who struggle with hunger, and many of these are children and seniors. Often people on a fixed income must make difficult choices to purchase food, medication, or to pay a bill. With a successful drive this Saturday, Henderson County residents have the opportunity to help their neighbor to have a meal without having to sacrifice their other needs.

For more information, or if interested in volunteering on May 12 to help with the food sorting process, please contact United Way at 692-1636.