Annual food drive to happen on Saturday
By: Bill Greenwood
Monroe, Jamesburg and Cranbury post offices want to help alleviate the problem of local hunger.
To that effect, all three offices will be conducting an annual food drive Saturday that will benefit the Deacons’ Food Cupboard in Jamesburg and Skeets’ Food Pantry in Cranbury. Food collected in Monroe and Jamesburg will benefit Deacons’, and food collected in Cranbury will benefit Skeets’.
The Deacons’ Food Cupboard distributes food to the needy throughout the Monroe and Jamesburg area, Monroe postmaster Bob Reese said. The Skeets’ Food Pantry distributes food throughout the Cranbury area, Cranbury letter carrier Bill Marino said.
Those who wish to participate can leave nonperishable food items at their doors or by their mailboxes. Letter carriers from each office will pick the items up during their routes and deliver them to the appropriate location.
"It truly does serve people who are in great need," said Bea Davison, moderator of the Deacons’ Food Cupboard. "These people are extremely dependent on this food. In many cases throughout the month, they have nothing to eat but this food, and it’s important to provide what we can provide for them."
Ms. Davison said the Deacons’ Food Cupboard is looking for hot and cold cereal, sauces, soap, boxed macaroni and cheese, cake mixes or frostings, and any other nonperishable items.
The Skeets’ Food Pantry is looking for canned tuna, canned fruit, hearty soup, boxed macaroni and cheese and other items high in protein, said Fran Stewart, director of Skeets’.
"They’re the most expensive thing for people to purchase," she said.
The Deacons’ Food Cupboard will be collecting and sorting the food from the drive from 2 to 7 p.m. Saturday in the parking lot of the Jamesburg Presbyterian Church on Gatzmer Avenue in Jamesburg. Ms. Davison said local volunteers would be welcomed and need only show up to help out. Those who do not wish to leave food items for the letter carriers to pick up may bring their donations to the church between those times, as well.
Last year, the Deacons’ Food Cupboard received about four tons of food from the drive.
"We used every bit of it," she said. "So, we’d like to get at least that this year."
The Skeets’ Food Pantry will be collecting and sorting food from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Fellowship Hall at the First Presbyterian Church on South Main Street in Cranbury. Volunteers and donations are welcomed, Ms. Stewart said.
Last year, the Cranbury Postal Service Staff office collected about 4,000 to 5,000 pounds of food, Mr. Marino said. Ms. Stewart said the pantry is looking to meet or exceed that amount this year.
The annual drive is sponsored nationwide by the National Association of Letter Carriers and the United States Postal Service.