While waiting for your neighborhood mail carrier Saturday, you might consider grabbing a canned good or two and leaving them near the mailbox.
The Durango Post Office is working closely with the Durango Food Bank to help feed several of La Plata County’s struggling families during its “Stamp out Hunger” drive Saturday.
The event will take place nationwide as U.S. Postal Service carriers pick up food to donate to local food banks for distribution.
Post office customers will be able to donate a variety of nonperishable foods from the comfort of their homes. All they have to do is leave the canned and packaged goods in a plastic bag near the mailbox, and a postal carrier will scoop it up on his or her mail route, said Sarah Smith, director of the food bank, which is in Bodo Industrial Park.
Smith is thrilled to be receiving food this year.
“We are just trying to get (families) fed so they aren’t having to choose between food and rent,” she said.
The Food Bank really counts on this specific food drive to feed families in need through the summer, Smith said.
Last year, the post office was unable to help with the drive, and the food bank struggled in its distributions, she said.
The National Association of Letter Carriers conducts the event nationwide, said Seana Brandon, a city carrier assistant with the Durango Post Office who is organizing this year’s local drive.
In the 22 years the carriers association has held the drive, it has gathered 1.3 billion pounds of food nationwide, she said.
“You are feeding your friends and neighbors,” she said.
This time of year is especially critical, she said, because food banks often are running out of food for the summer months. Most people feel the “giving” spirit during the holidays, she said. However, with summer approaching and school ending, several children who are eligible to receive free and reduced meals could go hungry, she said.
Letter carriers will be loading food at the post office several times throughout the day while other workers gather food donations before Smith picks them up.
Carriers will be toiling hard Saturday. They often have to make multiple trips on their routes to load and unload food, she said.
Rural residents living near Durango, such as those at Durango West, will have donation bins available to them by their community mailboxes, Smith said. Also, residents in the Hesperus area can donate this year, she said.
If you miss the donation day, north and south City Markets will have donation bins outside their stores for pickup Tuesday.
Despite a space limitation, the Food Bank has a goal of obtaining 4,500 pounds of food this time around – 1,500 pounds more than its highest previous amount.
“The food that we get from this drive is really crucial,” Smith said.
The Durango Food Bank will host its own drive in July. It’s also hoping to obtain funding to expand the facility to meet clients’ demands.
vguthrie@durangoherald.com
