Fill bags now to help mail carriers eradicate hunger

Residents of the Mahon- ing Valley have long distinguished themselves as compassionate champions in fighting poverty and lessening the pangs of hunger in our community.

A few years back, for example, the Valley beat out all other communities in the United States in a national online campaign that yielded $1 million for hunger relief. Each September during Hunger Action Month, thousands of Valley groups and individuals roll up their sleeves to sponsor food drives. And just last month, Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley, with co-sponsorship from The Vindicator, concluded one of its most-successful Harvest for Hunger campaigns in its history.

Given that track record, we’re more than confident that residents of the Greater Youngstown area once again will galvanize their can-do spirit to participate in Saturday’s 24th Annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive

Nonperishable food items

The drive, sponsored by the National Association of Letter Carriers, takes place the second Saturday of May each year. Earlier this week, members of the association’s Branch 385 of Youngstown delivered specially marked brown bags at tens of thousands of stops along their daily routes. Use them – or a bag of your own choosing – to deposit nonperishable food items. Items typically most in demand include canned soup; canned meats and fish; canned vegetables, fruits and juices; boxed goods such as cereal; pasta and rice.

Then simply leave the bag or bags at your mailbox for carriers to pick up. They will then make sure they reach a food pantry in our community to provide immediate assistance to families and individuals in need.

That minimal effort will yield maximum returns. This annual collection, the largest one-day food collection event in the nation, has made a difference to those in our community and across the country who are struggling to make ends meet. Last year, letter carriers collected more than 71 million pounds of food, raising the total amount of donations picked up over the history of the drive to more than 1.4 billion pounds.

The underlying purpose of the campaign remains as vital today as it was a quarter-century ago when it began. Nationwide, the availability of nutritionally adequate and safe food, or the ability to acquire such food, is limited or uncertain for 1 in 6 Americans. In the Valley, a record 10.4 million pounds of food was distributed in 2015 to 148 pantries and soup kitchens in Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties by Second Harvest Food Bank.

In addition, the timing of the letter carriers’ spring campaign is both intentional and critical. Food banks and pantries receive the bulk of their donations in the fall and winter. By springtime, many pantries are depleted and enter the summer with low supplies at a time when many school breakfast and lunch programs are not available to children in need. In the Mahoning Valley, more than 33 percent of children live amid poverty and hunger daily, with that rate climbing most rapidly in suburban communities.

Community partners

Contributors to the Stamp Out Hunger campaign can also rest assured that their donations will be handled responsibly. The drive relies on support from a network of credible community partners that have stellar reputations for community service. Among them are United Way agencies, the American Red Cross and the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging.

To be sure, however, primary credit must go to the tens of thousands of letter carriers who willingly take on double duty the second Saturday of May in delivering mail and collecting millions of pounds of food.

Such compassion and commitment toward completing a much-needed mission brings to mind the long- standing informal credo of the U.S. Postal Service: “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”

We can think of no better way to show your appreciation for your mail carriers’ indomitable daily commitment to service and your own dedication to the health and welfare of your community than by packing a bag now for tomorrow’s drive to stamp out hunger.