To the Editor:

This year marks the 20^th anniversary of the nation’s largest one-day food drive to feed those in need – the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive conducted by the National Association of Letter Carriers.  In 2011, this event resulted in an astounding one billion pounds of food collected!

On Saturday, May 12, caring and committed Letter Carriers throughout the country will collect food along their routes and deliver it to local food pantries.  All food collected in Woburn and Winchester will be delivered to Council of Social Concern’s Food Pantry.

For two decades, our Food Pantry has relied on the Letter Carriers Food Drive to keep our shelves stocked over the lean summer months, which has become more challenging than ever over the past few years. 

Despite news reports that the economy is improving, that is not evident here at the Food Pantry.  During the first eight months of this fiscal year, we served 13% more households than last year during the same time, with an increase almost every month.

The human face of this statistic is your child’s classmate or teammate who didn’t eat dinner last night or breakfast this morning, the elderly lady sitting next to you in church who had to choose whether to buy food or her necessary heart medication, your unemployed neighbor who is putting on a brave face but is a heartbeat away from foreclosure.  These faces don’t look different than any other faces, so we often are not aware of the extent of hunger in our community, but we see it at the Food Pantry every day, and it is very real.

So please help our Letter Carriers make their 20^th Food Drive the most successful one ever.  They are willing to take on the extra work of collecting and delivering the food.  Let’s show them how much we appreciate their efforts by putting the food out for them to pick up.  Together, we can help Stamp Out Hunger in our community!

Please remember to put out your non-perishable food donations (within date and preferably not in glass jars) on Saturday, May 12, before your mail is delivered.  Your Letter Carrier will collect it for our Food Pantry.  If you would like to make a monetary donation, please make your check payable to “Council of Social Concern Food Pantry” and leave it clearly marked for your Letter Carrier.

Sincerely,

Karen Colatrella, Food Pantry Director

Council of Social Concern

2 Merrimac Street, Woburn MA  01801

Editor's note: Letters to the Editor are printed upon receipt; content is unedited and is the letter writer's opinion.