By Conrad Dudderar
Staff Writer
Yukon mail carriers and other volunteers will canvas Yukon-area neighborhoods this Saturday picking up sacks of food left by mailboxes.
Manna Pantry’s goal is to collect 35,000 pounds of food in the National Association of Letter Carriers’ 2022 “Stamp Out Hunger” Food Drive.
Postal carriers are leaving plastic bags with mail customers on their routes this week.
Residents are asked to fill those bags with canned and dry goods that will be collected May 14.
“We especially need boxed cereal, canned fruit and Hamburger Helper,” Manna Pantry Director Sherri Rogers said. “We’ll take canned meats; just nothing perishable this Saturday.”
Mail carriers and volunteers will bring all donations to the non-profit Manna Pantry, 620 N Cemetery Road.
There, the foodstuffs will be weighed, sorted and packed in boxes.
In past years, nearly 30,000 pounds of food has been collected in the Letter Carriers Food Drive to help fill Manna Pantry’s shelves.
However, the drive was canceled in 2020 and 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is our largest food drive,” Rogers said. “We’re counting on our community this year because the need is growing.”
Manna Pantry has expanded its reach across Canadian County after the local food cupboard moved this January to a 2,000-square foot space inside the new Together We Center.
This growth – and the economy – have increased the demand for its services among Canadian County’s food insecure population.
THEY NEED YOUR HELP
Volunteers are encouraged to come this Saturday to the Manna Pantry, on Trinity Baptist Church-Yukon’s campus, to help with the Letter Carriers Food Drive.
Boy Scout troops, Girl Scout troops, churches, small groups, football teams, civic groups, companies, families, and individuals are welcome.
“We’ll need 50 to 60 volunteers starting 11 a.m. to noon Saturday,” Rogers said. “They can register on our Facebook page.”
The Manna Pantry now serves clients four days each week: Tuesdays from 3-6 p.m., Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to noon, Thursdays from 5-8 p.m., and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon.
Starting June 1, Manna Pantry also will be open Mondays from 5-8 p.m. to help keep up with growth.
To volunteer for the May 14 Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, call (405) 265-0193.
