By the numbers
What the National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger food drive has collected during the past six years:
2010 77,917 pounds
2009 74,452 pounds
2008 67,670 pounds
2007 71,512 pounds
2006 70,053 pounds
2005 59,093 pounds
Source: NALC
HAMILTON — Letter carriers hope 2011 is a record-breaking year for stamping out hunger.
The annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive campaign is Saturday in Butler County. The day is the 19th annual campaign nationally, said National Association of Letter Carriers Union representative Don Hershner.
To participate, Butler County residents should place non-perishable food items by their mailbox. Letter carriers will pick up the items and take them to the post office, Hershner said.
From there, a truck will deliver the food to Shared Harvest Food Bank in Fairfield.
In the campaign’s existence in Butler County, more than 980,000 pounds of food has been collected.
If the Stamp Out Hunger food drive matches this year what it did in 2010, then 1 million pounds of food will have been collected during the campaign’s 15 years.
“If we do like we did last year, we’ll go over 1 million pounds of food,” Hershner said of the 77,917 pounds collected in 2010. “So when they talk about a caring community, Butler County is a caring community.”
“Incredible” is the description Shared Harvest Executive Director Tina Osso said she would label the county’s efforts.
“When times get tough, it always surprises me how many people step up to the plate and share what they have,” she said. “Food pantry lines get longer, and more and more people are seeking help with food.”
Hershner was presented a proclamation by the Butler County Commission making Saturday “The National Association of Letter Carriers Food Drive Day” in the county.
“Thousands of families caught in the economic crisis will have access to this needed and nourishing food through Shared Harvest Food Bank’s network of food pantries,” said commission President Chuck Furmon as he read the proclamation.
After the presentation Furmon said to Hershner, “As you stated, the letter carriers are the workhorse, and they are to be commended.”
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