Community Corner

Put Food Donations Out With the Mail on Saturday

Stamp Out Hunger, in its 20th year, feeds hungry people in Bucks County and across the country.

 

You know that bag of food you’ve been meaning to drop off at the food pantry? This Saturday, your mail carrier will do the work for you.

May 12 marks the 20th annual Stamp Out Hunger, and it couldn’t be easier to participate. Simply put a bag of nonperishable food out with your mail. Your postal worker will collect it on his or her route and deliver it to a local food aid organization.

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Donations from some post offices in the Delaware Valley go to the Philadelphia-based Philabundance, spokeswoman Lindsay Bues said Thursday.

This year, though, food collected in the Newtown area will be donated to local food cupboards and churches, Bues said.

Find out what's happening in Newtownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Stamp Out Hunger is the nation’s largest single-day food collection drive, according to the U.S. Postal Service. Last year, carriers picked up 70 million pounds of food. 

Each box of spaghetti and can of tuna is desperately needed, even here in relatively affluent Bucks County.

Visits to the county’s 27 food pantries or distribution points doubled from 25,000 around 2005 to about 50,000 in 2011, according to Mike Olenick of the Bucks County Opportunity Council.

That rising need mirrors what has happened across the country during the recent years of economic stress. A 2011 food insecurity study by Feeding America found that nearly 49 million people—including one of every five children—needed emergency food assistance last year.

If you're trying to decide what to stick in the bag to leave out on Saturday, experts like Kate Bianchini have some advice.

Canned proteins such as tuna, salmon, chicken and beans are good choices, she said. Canned fruits and vegetables are also are preferred for their high nutrition and long shelf life.

Look for a Stamp Out Hunger bag to arrive in your mailbox very soon, or just put your own bag out on Saturday.


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