Post office collects 5,000 pounds of food
By Staff
Rebecca Walker, Franklin County Times
On Saturday, Russellville residents crammed 5,080 pounds of food into their mailboxes for their postal carriers to collect.
The donations were a response to the National Association of Letters Carriers' (NALC) 15th annual "Stamp Out Hunger" food drive.
The event takes place each May, and is the nation's largest one-day effort to stamp out hunger, according to the NALC.
"I just want to show my appreciation for everyone's help," said Sherman Lynch, the local representative for the NALC.
Lynch coordinated the event for the Russellville area.
According to Lynch, the collections totaled 5,080 pounds of food, as well as a ten dollar donation.
Kelly Culpepper, supervisor of delivery services at the Russellville office, said that 127 postal tubs were filled with food after all of the collections were received.
"As the carriers brought the food in, we worked to separate and organize it so that it could be evenly distributed," she said. "It was a hot day, and a lot of work, but there were no complaints. I was very surprised and proud of the Russellville community's participation."
According to Culpepper, 16 postal service employees worked on the project.
The majority of the collected food was donated to Faith Mission Outreach.
"We have benefited greatly over the last few years through the community support of the postal service's food drive," said Matthew Mangino, mission administrator for Faith Mission Outreach.
"We are able to provide canned goods to several thousand people. We provide food to about 500 families a week, and over the next few weeks, that's where this food will be going."
"This drive is a major boost for our food output each year," he added. "We appreciate the postal workers' diligence and excitement in doing this project every year. It's awesome that they give back to the community in this way."
Other donations went to Quinn's Ranch in Red Bay. Quinn's Ranch is a children's home for abused, neglected, orphaned, abandoned and homeless children.
In 2006, 70.5 million pounds of food were collected and distributed nationally in the Stamp Out Hunger drive, according to Lynch. It took place in over 10,000 communities and was participated in by 1,500 offices.
