By Jalen Maki
Tomahawk Leader Editor
TOMAHAWK – More than 5,000 pounds of food was donated in the Tomahawk area during the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC)’s Stamp Out Hunger® Food Drive on Saturday, May 14.
The Stamp Out Hunger® Food Drive, the largest food drive in the United States, was first held in 1983. The food drive is held annually on the second Saturday in May in 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam.
To participate in the food drive, individuals leave a donation of non-perishable food items next to their mailbox before the delivery of the mail. Letter carriers pick up the donations as they deliver the mail, and the donations are distributed among local food banks, pantries, shelters and churches.
Scott Klinger, Postmaster at the Tomahawk Post Office, said 5,471 pounds of food was collected locally. The donations were divided between the Tomahawk and Nokomis food pantries.
Klinger said the Tomahawk Post Office received a thank-you card from Bette Stillman of the Nokomis Food Pantry that said the pantry should be stocked for up to six months thanks to the donations collected during the food drive.
“I feel the people in the community were very generous this year,” Klinger stated. “It was nice, especially with the tough times we’re having.”
Klinger noted that although more pounds of food has been collected in previous years, it’s important to remember that a grocery bag full of canned good weighs more than a bag of boxed items, such as cereal and Hamburger Helper.
“So it’s not necessarily that we got more or less, but I’m going to say that we had a very good year,” Klinger said.
Since its inception, the Stamp Out Hunger® Food Drive has collected nearly two billion pounds of food for struggling residents, NALC said, noting that hunger affects one in eight Americans, including millions of children, senior citizens and veterans.