The annual National Association of Letter Carriers “Stamp Out Hunger” Food Drive on Saturday brought in almost 82,000 pounds of food in Berks County, officials said Monday.
Customers left nonperishable food items in a bag near their mailbox, and their letter carrier collected and delivered the items to Helping Harvest or to their post office, where items were then picked up and taken to the Helping Harvest warehouse in Spring Township.
Volunteers at the warehouse began sorting the items for distribution to those in Berks and Schuylkill counties in need of food assistance. This process is expected to continue over the coming days and weeks.
Helping Harvest officials anticipate more donated food from the drive will trickle in over the course of the week.
Since 1993, letter carriers across the country have collected food items along their routes and delivered them to local food banks.