By Tom Blakey
Saturday is the 17th annual National Association of Letter Carriers National Food Drive -- the largest one-day food drive in the nation.
Last year, letter carriers represented by the NALC (AFL-CIO), with the help of rural carriers, volunteers and other postal employees, collected 73.1 million pounds of food designated to the needy by postal customers. Locally, 35,000 pounds of canned goods were collected, according to Tom Lawler, local coordinator of the NALC drive.
"Last year we more than doubled what we picked up in 2007. This year, we're shooting for 40,000 pounds of food," Lawler said.
Lawler said carriers distributed food drive cards Wednesday and began handing out the food bags.
Letter carriers will collect non-perishable food items left by mailboxes and in post offices -- canned meats and fish, canned soup, juice, pasta, vegetables, cereals and rice -- and deliver them to local community food banks, pantries and shelters.
"Food collected locally stays local," Lawler said. Recipients of this year's drive will be Food and Shelter for Friends, the Salvation Army, CrossPointe Church food closet, Alameda Church of Christ food closet and Mission Norman food closet.
The event was created by the National Association of Letter Carriers, in conjunction with Feeding America, and is sponsored by Campbell Soup Company and the United States Postal Service.
"We work hand in hand with postal management. They let us use their facilities and their trucks and give us leeway on how long it takes to do our routes Saturday. Everyone is cooperating," Lawler said.
All residents need to do is to place the bag or box of non-perishable food next to their mailbox before their carrier delivers the mail Saturday, and the carrier will do the rest. The food is taken back to the postal station, sorted and distributed to the area food pantries and shelters.
An estimated 30 million people face hunger every day in America, including more than 12 million children, according to the Feeding America Web site.
"The drive is especially important this year to those who have lost their jobs in this economy and to the millions more who face economic uncertainty," organizers said.
"The need is greater than ever," Lawler said. "People give us whatever they can."
Tom Blakey 366-3540 tblakey@normantranscript.com
