Hunger doesn’t take a summer vacation

Even during those lazy days of summer, access to food continues to be a problem for area working families. Summers can be especially tough when kids are out of school and school lunches and snacks disappear.  Thanks to the area labor family, the Community Services Agency and the Capital Area Food Bank have been the beneficiaries of some recent union food drives.  Robert Williams, President of NALC Branch 142, reports that their branch collected 69,619 pounds of food during the Annual Letter Carriers “Stamp Out Hunger” Food Drive conducted theSaturday before Mother’s Day in May, and this was donated to the Capital Area Food Bank, which provides food to hundreds of metro area food banks, helping to provide food to thousands of our neighbors across suburban Maryland, DC and northern Virginia.  And this week, CSA received a carload of food collected by the OPEIU Local 2 members and the staff of the National Electrical Benefits Fund in Rockville. “You can help!” says CSA Executive Director Kathleen McKirchy. “Send us gift cards from Giant, Safeway or Shoppers -- our union grocery stores -- collect non-perishable food at your shop and call us when it’s ready for pick-up or delivery, or send in a financial contribution to CSA earmarked for the Emergency Assistance Fund.  Email [email protected] or[email protected] for information.
photo: NEBF’s (l-r) Yvonne Ellis, Mike DeSautels and Lynn Kelly; photo by Kathleen McKirchy

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