THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30, 2008
Letter Carriers To Handle Extra Loads On May 10 Food Drive Day
The Mt. Prospect Post Office will once again host its Letter Carriers 16th Annual Food Drive from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 10.
According to Event Coordinator Edward Ciechanowski, a box will be located in front of the Post Office that day so patrons can drop off non-perishable items. In lieu of food donations, Community and Economic Development Associations of Cook County, Inc. (CEDA) will accept cash donations.
"Anyone that can't make it to the Post Office that day, can leave their food outside next to their mailbox and carriers will come pick it up during their route," said Ciechanowski.
Toward the end of the day, CEDA will bring trucks to the Post Office and load them up with the donations. Then, CEDA staff will sort the food out and deliver it to a variety of local food pantries.
CEDA is one of the largest private non-profit organizations in the country, serving more than 200,000 Cook County residents annually. Over 30 programs and services are offered in the areas of child and family development, health and nutrition services, senior citizen programs, economic development, employment and job training, housing services, education services and community development.
Ciechanowski said last year, 3,900 lbs. of food, 100 lbs. shy of two tons, were donated to the Mt. Prospect Post Office. He anticipates the donations to hit the two-ton mark this year, he said.
In addition to a box at the Post Office, Ciechanowski said an additional box to collect donations is already located at Dominick's Food Store at Elmhurst and Golf roads in Mt. Prospect.
This event is part of a nationwide campaign to combat hunger in America, sponsored by the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC). The drive is the largest one-day food collection in the nation and the biggest community service effort by any union.
The union settled on the second Saturday of May for the annual drive since food bank donations tend to wane after the winter holidays. NALC officials have said this drop-off is particularly "troublesome" since the hunger problem is usually at its most "critical" during the summer when school breakfast and lunch programs, often the only source of stable nutrition for millions of children, are suspended.
According to NALC officials, the challenge this year is especially "daunting." They claim that all signs point to a deepening recession, and with gasoline prices flirting with $4 a gallon, more and more families, including those of carriers, are looking everywhere for ways to save money.
Last year, the drive delivered 70.7 million pounds of non-perishable items donated by patrons to food organizations nationally-the fourth consecutive year the total surpassed 70 million lbs.