“Stamp Out Hunger” This Saturday

Local post offices and letter carriers are looking for the community’s help this weekend in stamping out hunger.

This Saturday is the 23rd annual “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive nationwide.

The National Association of Letter Carriers organizes the food drive each year across America and locally, letter carriers in Toccoa, Martin, and Eastanollee will participate once again this year.

Toccoa Post Office Letter Carrier Michael Waddell said that Stephens County residents can donate to the drive this Saturday by leaving non-perishable food at their mailboxes Saturday to be picked up by their letter carrier.

According to Waddell, that includes items like cereal, pasta, rice, canned fruits or vegetables, or peanut butter.

“If they would place them in or around the mailbox,” said Waddell. “You can also drop off items at the local post office.”

Waddell went on to say that all of the food donated to Saturday’s food drive will remain in this community and go to the Stephens County Food Bank on West Whitman Street in Toccoa.

Last year, the “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive raised 10,107 pounds of food for the Stephens County Food Bank.

Waddell said they appreciate the community’s support each year and are looking to on Saturday equal or surpass last year’s amount of food donated.

“It has always been our goal to go over 10,000 pounds and we have done that three years in a row and that is a really great thing,” said Waddell.

The Stephens County Food Bank said it appreciates the efforts of the community and the letter carriers each year.

According to information from the Food Bank, it distributed 6,185 pounds of food to an average of 199 families per month.

Nationwide last year, the “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive collected more than 72 million pounds of food and since its inception as a national effort in 1993, it has collected more than one billion pounds of food nationwide.