PORT TOWNSEND — Most postal carriers on the North Olympic Peninsula will participate in the 22nd annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive this Saturday.
Sequim carriers will collect food May 16.
Postal carriers delivered bags and cards announcing the drive in Port Angeles, Port Townsend, Port Hadlock, Chimacum and Forks this week.
Letter carriers will collect nonperishable food donations in or near mailboxes as part of a national effort.
This year’s drive is on the 23rd anniversary of the National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger food drive.
Those who wish to donate can fill bags with contributions of nonperishable food and leave it in or around their mailboxes for Saturday pickup.
On that day, letter carriers across the country will collect food donations for area food banks.
Locally, food donations will go to the Port Townsend Food Bank and other Jefferson County food banks such as the Tri-Area one, as well as those in Port Angeles, Forks and Sequim, as they have every May for the past several years.
Last year, Port Townsend letter carriers collected more than 8,000 pounds of food for the food bank, while Sequim and Port Angeles took in 10,000 pounds each.
According to Port Townsend postal carrier Saul Samsky, the timing of the food drive is deliberate.
Supplies down, need up
He said it answers the greatest need of food banks across the nation as their supplies of donations gathered during the holiday season dwindles.
At the same time, demand increases at this time because school breakfast and lunch programs often are not available during the summer vacation months.
“We benefit from the food that is collected in this drive for the entire year,” said Jessica Hernandez, Port Angeles Food Bank executive director.
“It carries us through the winter months and supplements what we gather from other sources.”
The drive comes at a time of year where there aren’t a lot of other food drives, said Mark Ozias, Sequim Food Bank executive director.
“It really helps to fill some of our basic needs for things like tuna fish, peanut butter and canned goods,” he said.
Plastic bags available in Port Townsend for the drive are not affected by the city ban on such bags in retail stores, Samsky said.
In all cases, contributions can be placed in a bag of any size or left loose in the mailbox.
Monetary donations are also welcome. Checks should be made out to the local food bank.
Food banks can purchase 25 pounds of food for each donated dollar, so donated money goes further than by buying food for the food drive, Samsky said.
Yet “donated food also provides a much-appreciated variety for the patrons of the food bank,” he said.
As in past years, the food banks’ greatest need for donated food is for canned fish and meats, canned chili and pastas, beans, rice and other staples, as well as peanut and other nut butters, but all varieties of nonperishable foods are welcome.
Sequim drive
The Sequim drive takes place a week later on May 16 to accommodate the Sequim Irrigation Festival, which celebrates its grand finale this weekend.
To participate, put a donation out by the mailbox or drop by the post office prior to 3 p.m.
This is the largest annual food drive benefiting the Sequim Food Bank. It provided 10,000 pounds of food in 2014.
The Sequim Food Bank served 2,149 families at least once in 2014.
For more information, visit www.sequimfoodbank.org, 360-683-1205; Port Townsend Food Bank, http://tinyurl.com/PDN-PT-food, 360-531-0275; Forks Food Bank, 360-640-8211; or the Tri-Area Food Bank, 360-732-4822.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.