Mail carriers plan food drive Saturday

By Paul Fallon
Times West Virginian

FAIRMONT May 08, 2008 01:02 am

— This Saturday, mail carriers in Marion County will be picking up a little bit more than the mail.
The annual National Association of Letter Carriers food drive will be held where non-perishable food items will be picked up by mail carriers or volunteers, said Paul Schumacher, a post office employee and coordinator for the county event.
Schumacher said that all non-perishable food items can be placed somewhere near or on a mail box for carriers and their volunteers to pick up.
The food is then distributed to different agencies in the county, organizations such as the Soup Opera, the Salvation Army and Scott’s Place Shelter among others. The food items are used to replenish the agencies’ food pantries, Schumacher said.
The food drive has been held in the county for around 15 years, he added. And, according to Schumacher, the community has responded with much generosity over the years.
“We normally collect from 10 to 14 tons of food every year,” he said.
Schumacher added that food items can also be dropped off on the back loading dock of the Fairmont Post Office on the corner of Madison and Jefferson streets after 9 a.m. Saturday.
The food drive is a national event which is held the second Saturday in May. It is the largest one-day food collection event in the nation, according to the National Association of Letter Carriers’ Web site.
Last year, more than 70 million pounds of non-perishable food items were donated, according to the Web site.
E-mail Paul Fallon at pfallon@timeswv.com.