McAlester News-Capital, McAlester, OK

Local News

May 8, 2008

Drive to dent hunger

By Susan Brittingham

Not all moms will have an easy Mother’s Day, complete with flowers and dinner at a nice restaurant.

Imagine how hard it would be to celebrate when you’re wondering how you’re going to feed your children.

But by taking part in the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, we can all help out those mothers who are having to choose between food and utilities.

All a person has to do is put some non-perishable food in a bag Saturday morning, set it out on the front porch and wait for the letter carrier to pick it up.

Then the food will be distributed to local food pantries. It’s a yearly effort sponsored by the United Way, the National Association of Letter Carriers and America’s Second Harvest.

“This year it’s on the day before Mother’s Day, which makes it easy to remember,” United Way of Southeast Oklahoma Executive Director Yvette Martin said. “Plus, all the food collected here stays here.”

Among the items that can be donated are canned meats and fish, canned soup, juice, pasta, vegetables, cereal and rice.

“But please, please, no glass bottles, no rusted cans and no food that has already been used,” Martin said.

Yes, she said, people have actually donated half-empty bags of noodles and beans in the past. “We literally have to go through everything very, very carefully to make sure we throw away items that have already been used.

“So please, only donate new, unopened items.”

Last year the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive collected 7,000 pounds worth of food here alone. Nationwide, 70 million pounds of food was collected.

According to www.helpstampouthunger.com, America’s Second Harvest, the nation’s food bank network, provides emergency food assistance to more than 25 million Americans.

Nine million of them are children.

And, as the cost of food goes up, the number of people requesting help from a food pantry goes up, too. America’s Second Harvest sees an 8 percent increase in the number of people needing food each year.

Seventy percent of them live below the federal poverty line, 36 percent have at least one adult in the household working and 12 percent are homeless.

Also according to the Web site, more than 40 percent of the clients served reported having to choose between paying for utilities or buying food.

Thirty-five percent said they had to choose between paying rent, making a mortgage payment and buying food.

Thirty-two percent report having to choose between paying for medical bills and buying food.

“It’s not easy for some people to buy food, but if people would donate at least one or two items, it would all add up,” Martin said. “So please, this Mother’s Day, let’s help feed some hungry children.

“Just put some non-perishable food in a bag, and if you can, attach the postcard that you received in the mail talking about the drive to the bag so the letter carrier will know it’s donated food and not trash, and then set it on the porch.

“It’s so easy to do, and it helps so much.”

Contact Susan Brittingham at 421-2029.

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