Posted on: Wednesday, May 15, 2002

Postal food drive collects 130 tons

Advertiser Staff

O'ahu letter carriers collected 259,000 pounds of food during the annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive Saturday.

The goods were left at or in mailboxes by residents and collected by postal carriers. The food will be turned over to the Hawai'i Food Bank for distribution to the needy.

Food Bank spokesman Brett Schlemmer said he was pleased with the response this year and said the O'ahu total alone came close to last year's statewide record of 276,000 pounds collected in the one-day drive.

Schlemmer said the total doesn't include items that are being left in mailboxes this week, or Neighbor Island collections that won't be tallied until next week.

O'ahu postal customers account for one-third of the Food Bank's annual needs, or about five months supply, he said.

The number of hungry in Hawai'i nears 200,000 people in any given year, according to a state Health Department study.