USPS food drive donates local
May 18—Last Saturday, community members were asked to set out non-perishable foods by their mailbox for the National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.
"The community did a very good job helping USPS fill pantries," Claremore Post Master Jesse Sixkiller said.
Around 9,000 pounds of food were processed by volunteers and city employees, Sixkiller said. All donations remained local with the food being split between First United Methodist Church and Good Samaritan Ministries. Sixkiller and his daughter Emery helped aid volunteers in organizing donations.
"Several OK Play with Purpose volleyball club players and multiple other volunteers gathered on the dock to assist carriers unload donated canned goods and sort them for two local organizations," he said.
Sixkiller said the volunteers found a groove and were able to process the donations quickly.
"The day began fairly slow but once carriers began dropping off items the game really picked up," he said. "Once the team was warmed up, they sprang into action and made short work out of the task. Many good passes were made and all volunteers demonstrated tremendous team work."
The food drive was put on pause for two years due to COVID-19, but Sixkiller said it was a win-win for everyone involved.
The National Association of Letter Carriers was founded by Civil War veterans in 1889 and is one of the nation's oldest labor unions, according to the NALC website. The food drive derived from members of the letter carriers union giving back on their own volition. The Stamp Out Hunger drive was organized in 1993 with the goal of having at least one branch in each state participate, according to the website.
