“We prefer non-perishable foods,” she said. “And last year we fed 10,770 people,” said Jill Borders, former longtime coordinator, who is filling in for Ratliff this week.īorders is urging local residents to participate in the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive on Saturday. Last year, it received 21,007 pounds of food through the postal drive, up from 18,231 pounds in 2016, according to figures compiled by Dixie Ratliff, program coordinator at the pantry.ĭuring 2017, the Yokefellow facility distributed 395,841 pounds of food from all its sources. The pantry has been in operation since the 1970s, when the Yokefellow organization was launched through a collaboration of area churches. Volunteers usually are standing by at the site on the Saturday the drive is conducted to receive the food, weigh it and put the items on shelves. That’s when carriers will pick up the food on their normal delivery routes.ĭonations in the Mount Airy area will be taken to the Yokefellow food pantry on Jones School Road to help fill its shelves. Typically, bags are left at mailboxes along the respective postal routes, which local residents are encouraged to fill with food so it can be picked up during the collection day on Saturday.Įven if bags aren’t distributed to a location or more than one is needed for double-bagging or to donate additional items, people can use their own bags and then place them inside the mailbox or directly beside it on Saturday. This is part of a campaign by the National Association of Letter Carriers which is now in its 26th year and is the country’s largest single-day food drive. The idea of going postal can have a negative connotation, but for purposes of a drive this week officials of a local food bank are relying on it to help the hungry.Įach year, the Yokefellow Cooperative Ministry food pantry in Mount Airy receives vital supplies as a result of the annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive conducted by local mail carriers.
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