Letter Carriers Carrying Food to Hungry

By ISRAEL SALAS-RODRIGUEZ

A crowd of about 30 hungry families sat patiently waiting for their number to be called in order to gain access to a supermarket-style food pantry. Four persons at a time walked inside the food storage room allowing them to choose the goods they need for themselves and their families.

The scene was the Church of St. Paul & St. Andrew in the Upper West side of Manhattan where the West Side Campaign Against Hunger in collaboration with the U.S. Postal Service on Thursday kicked off their 25^th annual National Association of Letter Carriers Food Drive. Last year the organization set a record of 1.7 million pounds of food handed out to families in need.

Volunteers and workers were busy rolling in fresh as well as canned food, calling out numbers and handing out hot meals to hungry families in attendance. Between May 6-13, letter carriers will be collecting canned food from either customers or business locations and delivering them to food pantries across the city. “We do everything to try and get families out of poverty with the help of the community,” said Charlie Heege, president of NALC Branch 36.

“We live in the richest and most influential cities yet people still go to sleep hungry,” said Heege. “With your help we can stamp out hunger.”

Families walked out of the pantry with smiles on their faces as they wheeled out their charts full of food. Gregory Williams, of 110 Lenox Ave, has being going to the pantry for 15 years.

“I get food stamps so with what they give me it helps out a lot. I got chicken I don’t have to buy, milk I don’t have to buy, so with my food stamps I go shopping,” said Williams, as he carried his two bags full of food up Broadway.