Studer Community Institute

Stamp Out Hunger Drive needs you this weekend

May 5, 2015
/ Ben Sheffler
/ community-dashboard

It may be the easiest helping hand you ever lend. The largest single-day food drive in the country is this Saturday, May 9, and all it takes to participate is to place a bag of nonperishable food at your mailbox. The Stamp Out Hunger food drive, put on locally by Escambia and Santa Rosa county postal workers, is in its 23rd year. Last year, nearly 160,000 pounds of food was donated to several food pantries in the community. "That's one day, in addition to delivering mail and other stuff that we do for people, that we get to give back to the community," says Philip Skipper, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers Northwest Florida Branch 321. "It's just amazing how much people are willing to give to those that are less fortunate; it's great." [sidebar] Stamp Out Hunger Drive In addition to Manna Food Pantries and ACTS Ministry, Bay Area Food Bank in Pace and Milton, Warrington Emergency Aid Center and We Care Ministries of Navarre United Methodist Church will receive food. Questions? Visit www.helpstampouthunger.com. [/sidebar] The donations come at a time when there is an increased need for food but fewer donations, says DeDe Flounlacker, executive director of Manna Food Pantries. "What happens is a lot of the children in our area depend upon their school for free or reduced lunch, and same thing for breakfast, to get healthy food to eat," she says. "So when schools are out, that source is not available to them." Flounlacker says the Stamp Out Hunger food drive helps Manna, which served nearly 33,000 individuals in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties last year, provide food to those in need during the summer. ACTS Ministry of Holley Assembly of God expects to receive about 15,000 to 18,000 pounds of food from the drive, which sustains it for most of the year. "That will get us through six months of the year," says Doug Barber, pastor of Holley Assembly of God. "We feed somewhere between 150 to 200 families monthly, so there's a big need in our area." Barber says the drive is a blessing for his community. "We're reaching out to anyone who has a need, and that could be somebody who's lost a job to somebody who's living in a tent," he says. A kickoff event is at 11 a.m. on May 7 at the downtown Pensacola Post Office. Skipper says Mayor Ashton Hayward, local postmasters, and representatives from Publix and local food pantries will be there to help bring attention to Saturday’s event. Publix, one of several sponsors of the drive, has donated nearly 6.5 million bags in five southern states, says Skipper, but any sturdy bag can be used. "It just seems that since Publix has started donating the bags, the food that we take in has increased over the years," Skipper says. Canned fruits and vegetables, canned soup, pasta, rice and cereal are examples of what can be donated. "Think about giving food that you yourself would eat," Flounlacker says. "At Manna, we really have an emphasis on providing the healthiest food we possibly can." Whether it be a big or small donation, everyone is encouraged to participate. "Every little bit helps, and there's a lot of people out there in need," Skipper says.

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Stamp Out Hunger Drive needs you this weekend

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