Letter Carrier Food Drive on tap
By Nathan Straus News Reporter

Area citizens can do their part to help the Chandler, Murchison and Brownsboro Post Offices fight hunger on Saturday, May 10, as the 16th annual Letter Carrier Food Drive begins.

The National Association of Letter Carriers, partnered with the U.S. Postal Service, Kroger, Campbell Foods, United Way and the AFL-CIO, will begin a food drive this Saturday.

To participate, citizens can leave non-perishable food in plastic sacks, a grocery bag or a box at their mailboxes on Saturday and letter carriers will come by and pick up the food. They will then deliver the food to the Local Food Pantry. From there, the food will go to those in need.

The USPS stated demand for food from agencies and food pantries has increased by nearly half.

Many focus on the food drive donations during the Christmas holiday season. However, the summer months - when school is out and there are no school lunches to look forward to - are when children are in the most need, USPS officials said.

Rising gas and food costs have affected the requests for assistance even more.

Ricky Williams, Brownsboro postmaster, said about two carts are filled with food each year.

"We've been participating for eight to 10 years," Williams said.

Williams said Brownsboro's donations will stay local, while Chandler's go to God's Open Hands. Murchison's donations also go to God's Open Hands.