Food collection planned
By Becky Barclay
Published in News on May 5, 2015 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Stamp Out Hunger food drive coordinator Cliff Barker holds the bags that will be placed in mailboxes starting Wednesday. Postal mail carriers will collect the non-perishable food items Saturday, but they can also be dropped off in the bins located in the Postal Service office.
Postal letter carriers hope to pick up more than just mail around Wayne County Saturday.
This is the 21st year for the annual National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger food drive. The actual drive will be Saturday, but collection bins will be out at both Postal Service offices in Goldsboro throughout the week and even a couple days into next week for customers who want to drop off their donations.
"If someone has a lot of food that won't fit in their mailbox, and they can't get it to the post office, he or she can put a note in the mailbox Saturday and the letter carrier will come to your door and get it," said Cliff Barker, letter carrier and food drive coordinator
Non-perishable foods that have not expired are needed, he said.
That includes canned goods, boxed foods and even juice boxes.
"And nothing in bottles," Barker said.
"We don't want anything broken or anyone getting hurt. Basically, we want what someone can make a meal out of. But it's amazing, you don't know what you're going to get. We've even gotten diapers and things like that in the past. And we've also gotten dog food. Dogs need to eat, too."
To remind their customers, letter carriers will be delivering post cards and food collection bags, starting Wednesday.
Barker said the food drive began on the local level because the need was so high.
"Last year, Wayne County did so well that the local food pantries were so full they were able to donate some of it to the agencies that were not involved but were also in need," he said.
Barker said letter carriers collected 30,723 pounds of food in 2014 -- about 15,000 pounds more than it has ever collected.
This year's recipients of the food will be the Community Soup Kitchen, Salvation Army, Community Crisis Center, St. Mary Church, Kingdom Harvest, Domestic Violence Women's Shelter and United Church Ministries.
"We collect the food, and the different agencies pick out what they want," Barker said. "We load the food onto two trucks, one driven by the Salvation Army and the other driven by Bryant Hoots with Hoots Hauling, who donates his time and truck to the food collection.
"Last year, I watched the truck being loaded up to take the food to the agencies, and Bryant Hoots looked at me and said, 'We're going to have to make two trips,'" Barker said. "There was that much food.
"Maybe people were a little hesitant during the first drives about where the food was going. But now I think they know it's a good cause and going to some great organizations. And if everyone in Wayne County would give one can of food per person per household, that's plenty of food."
Barker said he'd like to see businesses and other organizations donate food to the annual drive.
For more information about Stamp Out Hunger, call Barker at 919-273-6573 or United Way of Wayne County at 919-735-3591.