Friday, May 15, 2009
Bring in the groceries
Send us your giving news Your Community, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, VA 24010 or e-mail yourcommunity@roanoke.com.Letter carriers load up during the Stamp Out Hunger event.
AMY HANEK Special to The Roanoke Times
Terry McVey, a Hollins branch postal carrier, collected hundreds of pounds of food Saturday from mailboxes.
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Terry McVey leaned out of his mail truck to retrieve a white plastic bag off a black metal mailbox. A 23-year veteran of the U.S. Postal Service, McVey participated Saturday in the national food drive Stamp Out Hunger.
The Campbell Soup Co. and the National Association of Letter Carriers collaborate for this event, hoping to fill food banks across America. The event, which began in 1993, has collected more than 900 million pounds of food over the past 16 years.
Last year, Roanoke post office branches collected about 203,000 pounds of food for the Southwestern Virginia Second Harvest Food Bank. McVey said he has seen an increase over the years, despite the economy.
"I'm sure they're aware of the need for the poor," he said. "I just think it gets better and better every year."
It's a good thing McVey has seen more donations each year. According to a recent survey of Feeding America food bank members, there has been a 30 percent increase in emergency food requests.
McVey made 516 stops on his route near Peters Creek Road, collecting the donations and storing them away in the back of his mail truck.
He brought eight white boxes to fill, and he filled them. In fact, he filled the back of his truck 2 or 3 feet deep, making this collection another success for McVey.
Returning to the Hollins post office branch, McVey organized the collected mail and then the food. Members of the National Association of Letter Carriers donated their time alongside volunteers from the food bank. Trucks were loaded and returned to the food bank.
Julie LoFaro, the customer service manager for the Hollins branch, said her branch collected 23,203 pounds this year, up from last year's total of 22,037 pounds.
"It's a great feeling knowing that you are doing something to help others in such a big way," she said. "It's incredible to think that every city letter carrier in the entire country was doing this on Saturday, May 9. I know we made a huge impact."
Noel Ramos, this year's food drive coordinator for the Roanoke Valley NALC, said the goal for Roanoke was 209,000 pounds. He reported that carriers collected 215,103 pounds this year.
Campbell's Soup is the national sponsor for the event, donating 1 million pounds of food around the country. But Ramos and many other postal carriers appreciate each address they visit, too. After all, each bag filled with donated food adds up.
Ramos explained, "Without the community's involvement the food drive would not succeed."
