SALEM — The National Association of Letter Carriers will hold its annual "Stamp Out Hunger" food drive tomorrow, and it couldn't come at a better time. Food pantries across the region, many of which are facing shortages, rallied this week at the Statehouse in Boston for more funding.
"A lot of people are struggling," said Veann Campbell, the volunteer director of St. Joseph's Food Pantry in Salem. Her pantry, she said, is serving about 850 families a month — 100 more than usual.
Yesterday, the church pantry ran out of food.
"We just locked the doors and put out a sign, 'Sorry, No Food Available Until Next Week,'" she said.
Residents are asked to put canned goods, dried foods and other nonperishable items in a bag and place it on the front step, by the mailbox or wherever the mail is delivered.
The letter carriers will make two pickups tomorrow — one for the mail and the second for the food items. All of the food will be distributed to local pantries, shelters and institutions.
"This is the biggest one-day food drive in the country," said Eddie Lendall, the food drive coordinator at the Salem post office. "It's really a big shot in the arm for the food pantries."
