Postal service food drive set for Saturday

In Nevada and throughout the nation, the National Association of Letter Carriers will stage its 17th Annual "Stamp Out Hunger" food drive Saturday.

U.S. Postal Service Officer in Charge Mary Nunnaley said interested Southwest Missourians should take their spare non-perishable foodstuffs to the local Post Office Saturday morning, leave them outside for their letter carriers that day or bring them in at any time next week.

Nunnaley said canned goods and other such supplies may also be left on loading docks behind the post offices.

She said every area city with in-town delivery, including Lamar, Butler, Appleton, El Dorado Springs and Fort Scott, Kan., is participating in the effort that garnered 77 million pounds of food nationally last year.

Nunnaley said it will be donated here to the Red Cross and Community Outreach food bank. "We'll do a door-to-door mailing about the drive on Thursday," she said.

Community Outreach Director Barbara Long said the springtime project is always welcome because most such efforts come around Christmastime and the stock starts getting depleted this time of year.

"Nevadans are very nice and donate lots of food, but we have a lot more people coming into town who are waiting for this wonderful food," Long said.

"Christmas is when everyone thinks about it, but May is a time when many people don't think about food drives."

Having fed 633 people in 323 families in April, she said, the food bank also needs things like Hamburger Helper, Tuna Helper, Jell-O, peanut butter and jelly. "It's just four grocery sacksful to help spread their food and get them through the month," said Long.

She said Community Outreach is also supplied by Nevada High School and Middle School faculty and students, 3M Corp., Ozark Food Harvest in Springfield and federal government commodities. "There are some things I still have to buy outright like toilet paper and paper towels," Long said.

"We provide some assistance with rentals and electric bills through the Salvation Army and churches."