Letter carriers collect 70,000 pounds of donations for Food Bank

Local letter carriers collected 70,000 pounds of food donations on Saturday.
All of the donations went to the Racine County Food Bank.

Here's some good news from the Racine County Food Bank. Local letter carriers' 17th annual "Stamp Out Hunger" food drive raise more than 70,000 pounds of donations for local food pantries.

The total poundage was down from last year, but targeted donations increased the overall value of this year's collection, according to a press release from the Food Bank.

Here's the summary of the food drive:

On Saturday, May 9th, local Letter Carriers and the Letter Carriers Auxiliary banded together with the Postmaster, Station Supervisors and many volunteers to collect 70,084 pounds of food for the Racine County Food Bank during the 17th annual “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive.

The “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive is the largest of the year and provides the Food Bank with almost 10% of the food that they need to supply their affiliates for the entire year.

The total weight was down about 7% from the 75,644 pounds collected last year; however, because of the Food Bank’s emphasis on its “Super Six Most Needed Items” list, volunteers collecting and sorting food from the drive report that the majority of the donations seem to be of higher value this year.

Volunteers included individuals and families along with representatives from the U.S. Postal Service, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the Racine Founders Rotary Club, Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 767, the Racine Community Action Agency, Two Men and a Truck, Pro-Build, Pioneer Products, Schmidt Industrial Truck, Great Northern Corporation and American Express Business Travel. They all donated their time, and in many cases, vehicles and equipment to assist the Food Bank in this huge undertaking.

The Racine County Food Bank is a United Way Partner Provider that provides food assistance to pantries, shelters and meal programs throughout Racine County, who, in turn, provide an average of over 60,000 meals each month to those less fortunate in our community.