Stamp Out Hunger drive set Saturday
Without nonperishable donations from local food drives, bologna, beans and cornbread became a habitual childhood meal for Kevin Hooper, Stamp Out Hunger
2018’s food drive coordinator. Hooper, a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier, said he would like to see people collecting food donations at the street corners instead of holding signs for personal donations for this Saturday’s drive.
During last year’s drive, 40,000 pounds of nonperishables were gathered, and this year’s goal is
50,000 pounds.
Part of the largest food drive in America, the event is coordinated locally by United Way of the Ouachitas and sponsored by
Peter’s Flooring and Paint, New Balance and Cafe 1217.
The public can donate by leaving nonperishable items such as canned soups and stews, canned vegetables and pasta in containers next to their mailboxes. The items will be picked up by the letter carriers and later delivered to organizations such as The Salvation Army, Potter’s Clay and Jackson House.
“I’ll always remember when the local church did a food drive and brought us a box of food. We couldn’t wait to get home, dig in and eat something new. I just remember the joy it brought to me and my sisters,” Hooper said.
He said he hopes to pay it forward, as he recalled that his family couldn’t have managed without donations from local drives.
“I grew up in a low-income house and I was one of those children who depended on the two meals provided at school. I’ve experienced the benefit of food drives firsthand,” Hooper said.
Ed Rice, a 18-year U.S. Postal Service letter carrier, has spent 15 years delivering mail in Hot Springs and said he has observed the socioeconomic differences in the city during a 10-minute drive between neighborhoods.
“I’ve seen a bit of everything on my routes, but I encourage everyone to give. Often times the less fortunate give the most because they’ve been there and done that,” he said.
“The second Saturday in May is the date for the drive because typically people give around Christmas and Thanksgiving, but by May the food supply has diminished. We choose this date to restore the pantries and help families make it through the summer,” Rice said.