Published: May 11, 2008 12:28 am            

STAMP OUT HUNGER: Postal workers take while they deliver

Needed food donations kept up despite a major economic decline

Mail carriers were lugging around some heavy bags Saturday, but instead of letters, they were filled with canned goods.

It was an extra duty added to their usual delivery route, but it was a welcome task — all the canned goods and non-perishable food items will be going to pantries serving those in need.

The 16th annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive, put on by the National Association of Letter Carriers, is the single largest food drive in the country, with bags sitting outside doors from Western New York to Southern California and everywhere in between.

In Niagara Falls, where the United Way of Niagara supervised operations — one of the few United Ways to take such an active role in the NALC’s drive — donation numbers appeared comparable to last year, Vice President Philip Buffone said.

“We think things are going well,” Buffone said Saturday afternoon as he stood outside the Main Street post office directing volunteers with boxes of food. “Food has been coming in from all our sites and numbers have been very good. Overall, we believe the community has responded well.”

By early Saturday evening, the Niagara Falls area had collected about 150,000 pounds of food. Though that’s about 20,000 shy of last year’s totals, Buffone said more donations will come in over the next few days.

In the City of Tonawanda, postal workers worked in the office throughout Saturday to make sure donations were directed properly.

“It’s a very chaotic day for us,” said postmaster Sheila Gavazzi, “because we’re trying to get the mail delivered without disrupting our delivery schedule and still participate in a very worthwhile cause.”

Luckily, some mail carriers had helping hands, like Rhonda Gonzalez in Niagara Falls.

Gonzalez has been volunteering to load up mail trucks with donations for years. Her husband’s involvement with the United Way got her into volunteering, but she’s been leaving food out for the yearly event long before that.

It’s an easy way for people who are able to give back to those in greater need, she said.

“We went all up and down Buffalo Avenue today,” she said, “and just to see all the people that were giving, all the bags outside — some (mail carriers) had to unload their trucks three or four times. ... It makes people feel good that they’re doing something good for someone else.”

The numbers in Western New York speak for themselves — for the past five years, Western New York has ranked No. 1 in the nation by donating and collecting more than 2.9 million pounds of food.

“This is a tradition to people — it’s the Saturday before Mother’s Day,” Buffone said. “I think people are expecting it and ready to give.”

How the area will rank this year will have to remain to be seen, though. Numbers from the rest of the country are still being totaled. But no matter what, it was a good year, Buffone said.

        

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