LEXINGTON — Local mail carriers will be picking up food donations as they do mail routes on Saturday, May 12, for Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.
To participate, people should place a bag of non-perishable food next to their mailbox in advance of the letter carrier’s arrival, said Lexington Postmaster Leta Zimbelman.
Recognizing that it is a busy weekend when people may not be at home, there will also be a collection bin on the counter of the Lexington Post Office where donations can be dropped off through Monday.
“We look forward to people participating. We did well last year,” said Zimbelman.
This is the 26th year for the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, which has collected over 1.5 billion pounds of food nationwide since its inception.
Although Lexington hasn’t participated every year, being part of Stamp Out Hunger was revived in the area three years ago, said Zimbelman, because both the rural and city carriers wanted to participate.
The timing of the food drive in late spring is based on input from food banks and pantries nationwide who report they start running out of donations received during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday periods.
The food collected goes to the local food pantry.
Post offices in Cozad and Elwood also plan to participate with donations going to the Cozad Food Pantry and Gosper County Food Pantry.
Examples of non-perishable items include cereal, rice, pasta, pasta or spaghetti sauce, canned fruit and vegetables, canned meals such as soups and chili, juice, peanut butter, macaroni and cheese, canned meats such as tuna, chicken and turkey, and beans, canned or dry.
Zimbelman asked that people not donate items that are homemade or home-canned. In keeping with food-handling and food-safety procedures, food that is opened, damaged or expired will be discarded by the food bank in the sorting process.
The food drive is an effort to raise national awareness about the real, ongoing problem of hunger in every community, and it’s a sincere attempt to use the U.S. Postal system’s unique delivery network to do something about it.
• 42 million or 1 in 6 Americans are food insecure. Food insecurity means living at risk of hunger and not knowing where the next meal is coming from.
• 13 million or 1 in 6 children are living in a food insecure household. Some experience developmental issues, are delayed in developing language and motor skills, or have social and behavioral problems.
• Over 5 million seniors, age 50+, currently face hunger in our country. Sixty-three percent of our elderly citizens choose between paying for groceries and getting medical care.
• 1 in 5 households served by Feeding America has a member who has served in the U.S. military. Seven percent of activity-duty families faced food insecurity over the past year.
• 72 percent of households served by Feeding America live at or below the federal poverty level. The current individual federal poverty level is $13,860 and $23,4380 for a family of three.
