MARC JACOBS
Hutch Post
Residents across Hutchinson and surrounding Reno County communities will have a chance this weekend to help stock local food shelves during the annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive organized by the National Association of Letter Carriers.
The nationwide effort, held every second Saturday in May since 1993, partners with local post offices to collect nonperishable food donations for area food banks. In Reno County, all donations collected stay local and are distributed through the Reno County Food Bank.
Josh Estrella, president of National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 485 in Hutchinson, said the event is especially important heading into the summer months when demand at food banks typically increases.
“Every second Saturday of May, the Stamp Out Hunger letter carrier food drive takes place across over 2,000 post offices nationwide,” Estrella said. “It’s something the letter carriers here in town look forward to because we can really fill up our food bank and help them get through the summer months and into the fall.”
Estrella, who has worked at the post office for 22 years and has spent 20 years as a letter carrier, said this year’s local goal is 25,000 pounds of food.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, local collections were nearing 30,000 pounds annually, but totals have not surpassed 20,000 pounds in recent years. Estrella said organizers are increasing outreach efforts this year in hopes of boosting participation.
Residents should have received post cards and donation bags earlier this week. Donors are encouraged to place nonperishable food items in the bags and leave them by their mailbox for pickup during regular mail delivery.
Estrella said donors should avoid glass containers because they can break during transport and damage other donations. He also asked residents to check expiration dates before donating.
Among the items most needed are canned fruits, canned chicken, cereal, pancake mix, syrup, tuna, peanut butter, jelly and crackers.
Monetary donations also are accepted. Checks can be made payable to the Reno County Food Bank and left in a stamped envelope marked for the food bank.
As carriers collect donations throughout the day, volunteers, retirees and family members help unload trucks and transport the food to the post office for sorting before it is delivered to the food bank.
Estrella said letter carriers take pride in both the competition among routes and the impact the drive has on local families.
“We are out in the community six days a week. We see the need that our community has,” Estrella said. “We talk to people face to face. We see their hardships that they go through.”
While Hutchinson-area city and rural carriers participate directly in the drive, residents in smaller Reno County communities without organized collections can still donate by dropping food off at their local post office and indicating it is for the Reno County Food Bank.
Estrella emphasized that all donations collected through the drive remain in Reno County.
“Everything that you donate will give back to the people that live here in this community that are in great need,” he said.