The annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive raised more than 15,000 pounds of food and $3,100 for North Olympic Peninsula food banks May 7, and one more collection will take place in Sequim on Saturday.
During the nation’s largest one-day food drive, U.S. Postal Service mail carriers collected food across the Peninsula — except for Sequim, which will hold its drive Saturday because of the conflict with the Irrigation Festival, according to food bank officials.
The Sequim Food Bank, located at 144 W. Alder St., is in need of “kid-friendly foods” — such as peanut butter, canned meats and macaroni and cheese — to help families who will have children at home for more meals during the summer break, said Andra Smith, executive director of the Sequim Food Bank.
Donations by cash and check are also welcome, because they are used to purchase such perishable items as milk, eggs, butter or margarine and bread, Smith said.
Sequim donations
On Saturday in Sequim only, donations to food banks can be made by leaving bags with nonperishable food on or by mailboxes, or by check written out to the food bank of the donor’s choice and left in an envelope in the mailbox marked “Postal Carrier.”
Last year, the postal carriers collected about 12,000 pounds of food for the Sequim Food Bank, but the average is about 10,000 pounds, Smith said.
“This community is awesome to be so helpful,” she said.
The Sequim Food Bank is open for those in need of food assistance from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays and from 9 a.m. to noon Fridays and Saturdays.
Port Angeles
Port Angeles mail customers donated 6,800 pounds of food and $1,400 in cash for the Port Angeles Food Bank.
The donations did not end Saturday, said Jessica Hernandez, executive director of the Port Angeles Food Bank.
“We just received another 250 pounds of food,” Hernandez said Wednesday.
Some residents who forgot to leave their donations at their mailboxes last Saturday have been either bringing donations to the food bank or leaving them with their postal carriers, she said.
Hernandez said the initial 6,800 pounds of food equates to providing one visit to the food bank for about 250 families.
In addition to the postal carriers’ collection effort, food bank board members and volunteers from Port Angeles High School’s NJROTC unit assisted in the food drive, she said.
The Port Angeles Food Bank at 402 S. Valley St. distributes food from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Port Townsend
The Port Townsend mail carriers collected 8,280 pounds of food Saturday and $1,700 in cash and checks.
Food donations are down from past years, but cash donations have increased, said Randy Swenson, emergency food distribution manager for Olympic Community Action Programs, which handled the food collection for the Port Townsend Food Bank, 1925 Blaine St.
The cash donations often go farther than the food donations because the food bank can purchase food for 4 cents per pound through a food bank distribution center, Swenson said.
Donations so far
Shirley Moss, manager of the Port Townsend Food Bank, said an additional 75 pounds of food and $50 in cash donations have come into the food bank since Saturday.
The Port Townsend Food Bank is open for people to receive food from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesdays and from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays for those 65 and older.
