Get your canned donations ready (Post Office food drive)

I'm posting this in a couple of spots today as a reminder to get your canned and other nonperishable food donations ready for tomorrow. The US Post Office and letter carriers will be collecting on their routes tomorrow for area pantries.

I know this isn't controversial and probably won't start any flames. Just think about the millions of Americans who depend on pantries for their meals and set out a can for them tonight. I hope that everyone who reads this will kick this post throughout the day so that anyone logging on here, DU'er or Freeper, will see this and take the time to pass this on.

Thank you.

I didn't receive any notice, but will do! Thanks!

They are talking about it on the morning shows right now.

yesterday, and will be happy to do this!

I didn't want to make the title too long but will add that on.

http://www.usps.com/communications/community/fooddrive.htm

I didn't know how they were doing it in larger cities.

:hi:

I volunteer at a local pantry. Supplies have been low for a long time and demand has been very high.

We need every donation we can get.

baby formula, low sodium veggies, no sugar added fruit, anything w/ healthier grains. Also, many pantries accept toiletry supplies, which we get few donations of. Diapers, soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toilet paper, sanitary napkins and tampons, etc.

bread? pasta?

Many of the donations are white flour, yet some of the people who utilize the pantries need whole wheat and multigrain products as a part of their diets.

They need more than just something to fill their tummies. They need healthy foods. And so many of our donations are junk foods that are discontinued stock.

(Also need to add about evaporated milk and powdered milk. Most state WIC programs end when a child turns five but their need for calcium does not end. Either form of milk is excellent for donations.)

Both dairy and nondairy. Some soy milks are shelf-stable, as are rice milks. They could also be donated.

Someone will greatly appreciate that gesture.

Mmmm, very good stuff, bro. I just got turned onto this product recently, and as a lifelong noodle eater, I can testify that whole wheat pasta kicks "enriched pasta's" butt! Try it if you haven't.

My five year old loves it and now complains when she sees "white noodles" at someone's house.

with condensed milk, whole wheat pasta, deviled ham spread, raisin boxes and a few other things.

We have tuna, peaches, green beans, Jiffy corn bread, ww elbow macaroni, sugar-free Jello, complete cake mix(add water) and frosting to go w/ it.

We also added some banana chips. My daughter picked everything in the box.

nt

Very nice of you to post this. We'll have to get some cans together.

and am planning on getting my daughter a position there too.

Hunger is one of those areas that I don't care about political affiliation, so I want to appeal to anyone reading this. Too many people need assistance right now.

and send them out.

Grab something, even just one can, and put it out or donate it to the dropoff area.

Takes only a minute or two of your time and you are doing so much for someone who needs it.

I work for a hunger-relief agency and the postal food drive is vital in replenishing our stocks this time of year. As the holidays pass and Spring comes along, most donors and volunteers tend to forget that we actually need MORE food in the summer months, as kids are not receiving their free/discounted school breakfast and lunch programs.

And btw, don't be afraid to go above and beyond this - do a food drive in the summer at your work or at a party, or call your local agencies and offer to volunteer!!!

The need is increasing rapidly in bushco's economy, as you can imagine.

Lots of kids and grandmas need your help!!

Rec'd!!

I am also working on getting my daughter some sort of volunteer position at the local pantry. We've talked about it and we know that a five year old can't do much but she can put cans on a lower shelf.

And we do need more drives. DU'ers (and lurking Freepers) need to get their offices together for a simple drive sometime this summer, if only to collect from family and friends. Have your kids Little League team do a drive-for one game they can set out donation boxes. Same thing w/ Vacation Bible School, swim league, etc.

We all need to do what we can. Donations rapidly drop off in the spring and summer and do not start back up until the fall, yet people need the food more than ever.

It is great to have supporters like you who see the bigger picture, rather than only thinking about it at Thanksgiving or Christmas.

It can be tough to find work for a kid that small, but it is great to get them started young. I was a brat who never thought about this stuff as a kid. I guess I am making up for it now but it warms my heart when an 8 year old shows up with $30 of birthday money to donate, or asks their friends to bring canned food instead of presents to they party.

There are some other ways little kids can help - at least at our place, I don't know if your local pantry could use this kind of thing, but there are fun and helpful thing for little kids to do to help.

---Birthday Bags - kids groups or school classes have been putting b-day bags together for us - usually a big gift bag filled with cake mix, paper plates and napkins, maybe streamers or other decorations, party hats, and a gift or two. That way a kid can have a real birthday party that they wouldn't otherwise be able to have.

---Thank-you cards for donors - Where I work we do food rescue, where we pick up food from stores, restaurants, bakeries, distributors, etc. Kids decorate thank-you cards (with drawings of vegetables and stuff) for us to send out to our donors who proudly display them for their customers to see.

My daughter's birthday is next month. I might have to bring that up-maybe in the invitations-as a way to donate from the kids at the party.

I would also love to bring up that idea at a Girl Scout meeting. I could see that as a fantastic project to do that the girls would really get involved in.

implement. I'll bring that up too.

regime if we keep masking the true consequences?

Charity just stifles the fires of the revolution.

*kick*

I am suprised I didn't get something in the mailbox about it...

It was just a simple postcard but I've heard it on the news today.

Someone will appreciate your kind actions.

I posted it to 3 other groups and sent it out to my mailing list!:-)

I just took a whole box of stuff to Harvesters Wednesday, but I'm sure I can put together a few cans for this drive tomorrow. Thanks again, and thanks to all who can participate in this.
dumpbush

I want everyone to see this.

:kick:

(this is the list my org. provides to folks doing food drives in general - I imagine other food banks need the same kind of stuff we do...

Tuna Fish or other canned fish or meat
Beef Stew, Meat Soups
Hearty Soups
Canned Spaghetti or Pasta
Chili
Beans (kidney, pinto, green, yellow, refried or black beans)
Baby Food or Formula
Ensure or other nutritional supplement drinks

Rice
Dry Beans
Noodles, Macaroni
Powdered Milk
Pancake or Baking Mixes
Cereal/Oatmeal
Granola Bars
Peanut Butter
Jelly (in plastic jars)

Personal Care Items
Diapers
Toothpaste
Toothbrushes
Soap
Shampoo
Disposable Razors

We also give out toilet paper and sanitary napkins when we have them. Both are necessary yet are not always affordable.

Please remember that your donation could make a difference in a person's life, if even for only one day.

Kicking again, if for no other reason than we are all in this mess together. In my home state (Missouri) the Repug state legislature wants to do away with ALL Medicaid! I went down to sign a petition against it and had a very thoughtful question asked of me:
"This is America! When did we stop caring about one another?"
dumpbush

I know exactly what is happening here. The pantry here is stretched almost too far and we can't offer what we used to in packages.

There are people out there that really need anything we can give them.

transplanted here from Oregon (don't ask). What a rude awakening! I thought people like some of the ones I meet here were only a bad stereotype.
Let's hope for a great turnout tomorrow! And THANK YOU, xmas74, for volunteering for such a worthy cause. I do my part for the local Meals On Wheels and know firsthand of the need.
dumpbush

Most mean well but...

I do think things are starting to turn around now. And what part of Oregon? I have relatives in Coos Bay.

I live blocks away from my Post Office, would it be better for me to carry the food down there? I can certainly do that. Either way, I am on board!

at the post office.

I live in a smaller town(about 25,000). In years past we just put the donations in a box next to the mailbox or even in the mailbox itself.

Thanks for the reminder :D

I have a post office box but every year there is a depository site at the post office and I always seem to miss this opportunity. I will leave myself a note and do a little shopping in the morning and hopefully help to restock those dwindling supplies. And I think this is the time to bring along my grandson to help me pick out some food supplies so he can know that he is taking part in the project.

for us to donate. She loves doing this every year.

And thank you for donating!

:sarcasm:


Thanks for the reminder, xmas74.