NEWPORT — On Saturday, May 9, the 23rd annual National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Food Drive for the benefit of local food shelves was held across the nation. The national figures are not in yet, but typically over 74 million pounds of food are collected.
In the Green Mountain United Way (GMUW) five-county service area, nearly 19,000 pounds of non-perishables were donated with over 2,200 pounds coming from Orleans and Essex county’s very generous residents.
These 2,200 pounds were distributed to the Orleans Food Shelf, the Jay Food Shelf, NEKCA (Newport, Island Pond and Canaan) and the United Church of Newport.
In total, the 19,000 pounds of food from the GMUW five counties were distributed to 24 different food shelves.
This is the largest national food drive that occurs on the second Saturday in May each year.
May is strategically chosen by the NALC as a time when food pantries everywhere are near empty after the long winter.
