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05/04/2017 11:37 AMOn Saturday, May 13, every resident with a mailbox in town can help the Branford Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger here. On that day, every bag of non-perishable food set near or hung from a mailbox will be collected during regular mail delivery and conveyed to Branford Food Pantry (BPF) to give directly to Branford families in need.
This is the time of year when BFP is banking on big community support, said Jay Webb, BFP Vice President.
"During the holidays people are very generous, but by spring time we all forget that the needy are still hungry all year long and that any help we can give them is greatly appreciated," said Webb. "The Postal drive is the most significant supply of food that we receive all summer, so it is vitally important that it is successful."
If Stamp Out Hunger is as successful as past years in Branford, the letter carriers will deliver about 14,000 pounds of food to BFP. The local drive is part of a National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) effort which will collect as much as 70 million pounds of food this year, noted Patrick Anderson, NALC steward for Branch 19 in Branford.
As a Branford letter carrier of 33 years, Anderson has participated NALC's annual Stamp Out Hunger drive for all of its 25 years.
"The Letter Carriers are proud to organize and support this drive, because it provides us the opportunity to help those in need and give back to the community," said Anderson.
On May 13, BFP hopes participating residents will leave some especially needed non-perishables among their donations, including peanut butter, jelly or jam, stew, tuna fish, juices, cereal, hearty soups, canned chicken or pork, hash and other meat-containing foods.
Located in the Patricia C. Andriole Volunteer Services Center at 30 Harrison Ave., BFP provides weekly groceries, for free, to about 174 different Branford families monthly – about 15,000 to 18,000 pounds of food per month.
On May 13, some 30 volunteers will help man the food pantry to take deliveries brought in by Branford's letter carrier. Webb said the volunteers of BFP are grateful for the work of the town's letter carriers, who put in a lot of extra effort each year to help Stamp Out Hunger in Branford.
"The letter carriers are in the best position to pull off such a food collection -- who else has vehicles that go to every household in town to pick up family donations? It's great that they are willing to go out of their way to make this happen," said Webb.
For more information about the Branford Food Pantry and its efforts visit the BFP website here or call (203) 481-3663