Pottsville residents can do their part to help those in need by leaving nonperishable food by their mailbox Saturday.
“All they have to do is put the food right close to the mailbox and we will pick it up,” Greg Andregic, coordinator of the Stamp Out Hunger food drive in Schuylkill County, said.
Stamp Out Hunger is a nationwide food drive that looks to feed the more than 48 million Americans who go hungry every day. One in five of those who go hungry are children. The food drive effort is coordinated by organizations such as the National Association of Letter Carriers, U.S. Postal Service and National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association.
Nonperishable food such as pasta, cereal and rice will be accepted. Andregic, who is also union steward of the National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 500, based in Harrisburg, requests no glass be donated for safety reasons.
On Tuesday, Andregic and Eric Umberger, city carrier assistant, went door to door on Howard Street delivering the mail and information about the food drive.
The following post offices are participating in the effort: Pottsville, Schuylkill Haven, Port Carbon, Cressona, New Philadelphia, Orwigsburg, New Ringgold, Shenandoah, Frackville, Minersville and Saint Clair.
Food collected in Pottsville, Port Carbon, New Philadelphia, Cressona and Saint Clair will then be taken to the Pottsville post office for distribution to the Salvation Army, Servants To All-My Father’s House and United Presbyterian Church, all in Pottsville. About two-thirds of the food will go to the Salvation Army, with the remainder going to the other two locations in Pottsville. Usually the food is distributed to the Salvation Army in Pottsville on Sanderson Street and Schuylkill Community Action. According to Andregic, Jason Schally with SCA said the organization had sufficient food and provided the names of the church and My Father’s House that could use the donations. The food collected in the other locations will stay in or near that area, Andregic said.
Capt. Kevin Polito, of the Salvation Army of Pottsville, said the food is appreciated.
“It really is an excellent food drive and it really comes at a very critical time of year for us. We get really loaded up with donations of course in November and December, around the holidays, so this kind of really resupplies us for the summer months,” he said.
He did not have a total amount collected in 2015 but said all of it was appreciated. In Pottsville, 13,700 pounds was collected, about 3,000 pounds in Schuylkill Haven, about 1,000 pounds in Cressona, and 900 pounds in Port Carbon.
Nationwide this year, letter carriers in 10,000 cities and other locations will help to collect the food during the nation’s largest one-day food drive, according to the postal service.
“For over two decades, the Postal Service has joined the National Association of Letter Carriers and others to help Stamp Out Hunger in America,” Postmaster General and CEO Megan J. Brennan said. “As we come together to help feed America’s hungry, I encourage our customers across the country to support this vital one-day food drive. Working together, we will continue making a difference in the lives of millions of Americans in need.”
In 2015, postal service employees collected more than 71 million pounds of food during the drive, feeding an estimated 30 million people, according to the U.S. Postal Service.