PEABODY — Citizens Inn is doing its best to Stamp out Hunger.
Last Saturday marked the 30th anniversary of one of America’s great days of giving — the National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.
In Peabody and Lynnfield, letter carriers collected approximately 16,000 pounds of food, which was donated to Citizens Inn’s Haven from Hunger program.
This nationwide food drive is traditionally held on the second Saturday of May, but has been on hiatus since 2019 due to the pandemic.
“Stamp Out Hunger is the single largest food drive for Citizens Inn,” noted Citizens Inn Director of Development Ali Haydock. “We’ve seen a dramatic increase in demand since this drive last took place in 2019. Between the pandemic and inflation, we served 1,100 unique households in March 2022. The food that we receive from this event will help supplement our normal flow of donations for several weeks.”
According to Citizens, its food pantry served an average of 450 households a month prior to the pandemic. Demand grew to 850 households a month during the height of the pandemic.
In March 2022, demand skyrocketed to 1,100 households and demand in April continued to rise. In 2021 alone, Haven from Hunger distributed more than 2.1 million pounds of food.
There are several reasons believed to be the cause of the spikes. First, rising food prices make it harder for people to stretch their food dollars the way they used to. Some benefits, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, do not cover essentials like diapers, formula and cleaning supplies. The rising costs of gas and housing also lead to grocery budget constraints.
More than 100 volunteers helped out during the drive and the weeks leading up to the drive, weighing, checking food expiration dates, and sorting through non-perishable items.
Local businesses sponsoring the volunteer effort at Citizens’ headquarters at 71 Wallis St. included Salem Five Charitable Foundation, DeMatos Landscaping, MRG Construction Management, C&M Holden Family, GraVoc, Peabody Rotary Club, Phil Richard Insurance, and Windover Construction.
Participation in the drive was simple: Residents simply left a nonperishable donation in a bag near the mailbox, which was then collected by letter carriers. The donated food is then distributed to local food pantries to help provide food to people in need.
There are other ways to help Citizens Inn combat food insecurity. Direct financial contributions make the biggest impact, allowing Citizens to provide support to transport and safely store food and pay staff and operations costs.
Monetary donations can be made online at www.citizensinn.org or by calling 978-531-9775.
People are also encouraged to host food drives at their organizations or businesses. To learn more about hosting in-kind drives, go to Citizens’ website.
Anne Marie Tobin can be reached at [email protected].
