Letter Carrier's Drive for the
Worcester County Foodbank

EDAF members and friends volunteered their time at the Worcester County Food Bank, an affiliate of The Second Harvest Foodbank Network. May 8th was the Letter Carrier's Food Drive, where food collected at U.S. Post Offices in the area was trucked in for sorting.

Sorting foodstuffs at the Food Bank

Foodstuffs varied from cans, to chips, coffee, and dry pasta. It was wonderful to see the participation both on the part of donators and sorters. However, certain types of food could not be used and should probably be avoided when donating. These include cans without labels, food in open containers either due to the rough ride or weak packaging, and things like paper towels that are non-food items. Non-food items cannot be redistributed with the food by the food bank and cans without labels and food in open containers are thrown away. Be sure to try to reinforce certain types of packaged goods if you suspect the wrapping may be insufficient for transport.

The Problem

In churches, synagogues, and town halls throughout Central Massachusetts, food pantries exist to provide an emergency source of food to people in need. Often, these are families who used to live from paycheck to paycheck, until one or both wage-earners lost a job. Other times, they are the elderly, whose savings have been eroded by medical costs. All too often, the recipient is a single mother with children who are going hungry - these children might otherwise be condemned to a lifetime of dependence on social services due to the effects of poor nutrition in their early years. The food pantries typically subsist on a paltry budget, often less than $10,000 per year. If their food was purchased, even at wholesale prices, this would not be enough to make a meaningful dent in the hunger problem in most communities.

Meanwhile, our incredibly prolific food industry generates truckloads of surplus food, amounting to millions of pounds annually in this region alone. This food, the result of overproduction, discontinued specials, mis-packaging, and other problems which in no way impairs its wholesomeness, has no viable commercial outlet and would normally be destined for the landfill.

The Role of the Food Bank

The Worcester County Food Bank acts as a bridge between these two worlds, accepting bulk donations of food and making it available at little or no cost to local relief agencies. One of three regional food banks which together cover all of Massachusetts, WCFB is equipped with the loading dock facilities, fork lift, hand trucks and warehouse space which answer the needs of the food industry donors. It also carefully inspects all received food for wholesomeness, to answer the donors' liability concerns.

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