San Luis Obispo is just one city that’s taking part in the largest single-day food drive throughout the country. With Stamp Out Hunger happening this Saturday, the food drive has wide-ranging impacts here on the Central Coast.
“They'll all be full," said Sheila Johnson, Care Pastor of ARISE Central Coast Church, referring to the church's food pantry. "There won't be a space on any shelf.”
Johnson remembers the first time food was dropped off at the church pantry after the Stamp Out Hunger food drive three years ago.
“We'd fill up the car as fast as we could," Johnson recalled. "We would literally run and empty the cart and then run back again. There was so much food and it was so... it was such a huge blessing.”
Lydia Caffrey has helped organize the food donation pickups by local U.S. Postal Service workers for the past 25 years. She says it was her favorite day as a letter carrier.
“I've always been so proud to be a letter carrier, but even more proud on that day when we pick up the food," Caffrey said.
Caffrey adds that the need for food in the community is high.
“You don't realize how much everybody needs the food,” she said.
Johnson says they look for non-perishable foods to fill their pantry. Over the past 30 years, the drive has delivered more than 1.82 billion pounds of food across the country with letter carriers collecting food from over 10,000 locations.
“Already knew we had a generous church, that when I saw that, I thought this whole community is amazing," Johnson explained.
If you want to take part in Stamp Out Hunger, just leave a bag of non-perishable food outside your mailbox this Saturday, May 10, and your mail carrier will do the rest.
