Marshalltown residents are encouraged to participate in the National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive on Saturday.

Non-perishable food donations can simply be left by mail boxes for United States Post Office letter carriers to collect when they make their daily deliveries. It is requested that no glass jars be used. The donations will be given to the Emergency Food Box and the Salvation Army in Marshalltown.

Cindy Staron, Emergency Food Box co-chair of operations, said people should leave the donations by their mail box by 8 a.m. Saturday morning.

“Then they wouldn’t have to worry about missing their carrier,” she said.

Staron is hoping Stamp Out Hunger brings in a large variety of food preferences, and boxed, canned or in plastic items which are within the “use by” date. She said they could use peanut butter, boxes of macaroni and cheese, dry and canned beans, canned fruits and vegetables, soups and boxed dinners and mixes.

The second Saturday in May was chosen for Stamp Out because numerous organizations run food drives during the holidays, and food pantries tend to run low on supplies during the spring.

“The same is true here in Marshalltown,” Staron said.

In the 33 years since the inception of the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, the second Saturday of May has become the largest one-day drive in the nation, and has resulted in the collection of almost 2 billion pounds of food.

“Before COVID, this food drive was collecting 10,000 pounds locally,” Staron said. “This will be year three after COVID. Last year doubled the year before. If the donations were to double again this year the drive would collect 5,000.”

The number of Marshall County residents struggling with food insecurity has slowly increased through the years. According to Staron, they continue to see 500 families, 50 to 60 which are new, every month at the Food Box.

The previous Mid Iowa Community Action Community Needs Assessment survey indicated food insecurity was the greatest struggle households in the county were facing.

The Iowa Hunger Coalition website contains monthly data of the rate of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) enrollment for each county. In March (the latest stats available), there were 3,996 Marshall County residents, almost 10 percent of the population, receiving SNAP, for a total of $622,309 in benefits and $958,356 in economic impact. Five years ago in May, two months after the COVID-19 pandemic began, there were 4,178 people, or 12 percent of the population, receiving SNAP, for a total of $803,218 in benefits and $1.2 million in economic impact.

——

Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.