The community has united to help the hungry.
“It’s kind of amazing to see how much food people are willing to donate and things like that and it’s a worthwhile cause and I enjoy doing it each year,” says Linda Quinn, Letter Carrier.
Quinn is one of thousands of letter carriers collecting the donations from local doorsteps.
“We like to contribute to the community, help those less fortunate. We always do it. We bring stuff to them all the time,” says Mark Carey, Minot Resident.
Letter carriers are a crucial link between the people and local pantries in this food drive.
“With the help of the post office, we’re everywhere in town. When we do it, we’re just at a school, and there’s lots of schools in town, or a church. The post office is throughout the whole city,” says Captain Randy Stahl, Salvation Army Minot.
Around 41 million Americans struggle each day with getting enough food to eat, and you’d be surprised just how many are in your community.
“300 families of getting food from us a month, so it’s a lot to do,” says Stahl.
The shelves tend to get a little bare after the holidays, but the need for food is year round.
“It’s always nice to have soups, canned fruits and vegetables. Fruits are the hardest things to get,” says Stahl.
Foods that can be made into a full meal help the most.
“A frozen dinner, it feeds them once. Spaghetti may feed them twice, or three times even,” says Stahl.
This pantry can feed families for about three months with the donations from this food drive alone.
“I’ve just been overwhelmed with all the caring of the community that has been outpoured to us,” says Stahl.
Feeding the hungry with the help of the community.
Last year, North Dakota residents donated nearly 96,000lbs of food to local pantries.
