Who's Hungry in Red Wing?

At United Way we get a lot of phone calls. Many of the callers are people looking for help finding a food shelf or obtaining food stamps. But sometimes they simply don't have anything to eat, parents who have no idea where they are going to find that next meal and are beginning to panic.

It's hard to believe, that in Red Wing, Minnesota, surrounded by bounteous fields, where everyday we encounter trucks, trains and barges laden with food, people are hungry.

According to a Sept 2011 report by the US Department of Agriculture 10.3 percent of Minnesota households don't have the food they need. Many organizations estimate the number is even higher. Among the hungry are children, elderly people, parents and single adults. Many have to make tough choices about how to spend their money -- often choosing between food, rent or gas to get to work.

The federal government doesn't measure hunger. Instead, it measures something called "food insecurity," a lack of consistent access to nutritious food. These are people who are not hungry all of the time, but that last week between paychecks they make due with very little or do without. 10% of Minnesotans missing meals are senior citizens, many who are forced to choose between eating or buying medication 

One third of those who are suffering from food insecurity are children.

* Hungry teens are 5 times more likely to commit suicide. 

Hunger is not only an issue for those who are experiencing it.

* This total expense amounts to a tab of $800 per Minnesota family every year.

This month in Red Wing you will be seeing many reminders of how you can help eliminate hunger for many families. If you are a family who needs help, you will find a list of resources as well.

 Maureen Nelson

Food Drive celebrates 20 yearsof feeding the hungry

May 12 will mark an important milestone for the National Association of Letter Carrier's Stamp Out Hunger national food drive. "It's our 20th anniversary," NALC President Fredric Rolando noted. "For two decades now, our annual national drive has proved critical in helping millions of American families-our customers-who are struggling to make ends meet during this continuing recession.

"Each year, the second Saturday in May is a day when all citizens have an opportunity, with the help of their letter carrier, to easily donate food to needy families in their community," he said.

The drive, the largest one-day food-collection event in the nation, has been a success every year, Rolando said, but the needs are particularly sad, even staggering, in 2012.

"Sixteen percent of all Americans are at risk of hunger-uncertain where their next meal may be coming from. That includes 1 in 5 children under the age of 18, plus 4 million seniors who are forced every day to choose between paying a utility bill and buying food," he said.

"Last year, despite many obstacles, letter carriers proudly collected 70.2 million pounds of food, raising the total amount of donations picked up over the history of the drive to more than 1.1 billion pounds," Rolando said. "With help from our brothers and sisters in the rural craft, alongside other postal employees and volunteers, letter carriers will do what we can again this year to help all Americans."

Providing branches and volunteers a much-appreciated boost are the drive's official sponsors: the National Rural Letter Carriers' Association, Campbell Soup Company, Valpak, U.S. Postal Service, United Way, AFL-CIO, Feeding America, Uncle Bob's Self-Storage and AARP.

"We are proud to continue our support of the annual food drive," NRLCA President Jeannette Dwyersaid. "It has become clear how such a small act of charity on the part of one person can resonate so profoundly in the communities in which we live."

Realizing that reminder postcards are key components in drumming up customer participation in the food drive, Campbell's is donating 75 million postcards to help the cause.

The NALC drive began at the local level in the late 1980s and went nationwide in 1992. Twenty years later, letter carriers still lead the charge in the sadly ongoing battle against hunger, helping to stock food banks, pantries and shelters for the summer months.

"This year, we enter the drive amidst a'perfect storm' of high unemployment, sky-high food and gasoline prices, unprecedented budget cuts to federal nutrition programs, limits on charitable-giving incentives and a decline in federal commodities," Feeding America President Vicki Escarra said. "Some of our larger food banks are reporting declines in food inventories of as much as 35 percent from last year.

"Few are more committed to ending hunger in America than letter carriers," she said. "You are the ones on the front line of the poverty battlefield. You see and console the very same people who come to us for emergency food assistance, often before we see them."

"Last May, for the eighth consecutive year, the food drive collected more than 70 million pounds of food in one day," United Way President Brian Gallagher said, "a testament to the dedication and commitment of a strong network working together for a worthy cause, and we are pleased that United Way will continue to partner with the NALC."

Wish List 

Cereals

Paper Grocery Bags

(for summer program)

Upcoming Events

Thurs., May 3rd

First Thursday 

Fun Fest

5-8:-pm

Fri., May 4th

Shepard Center Presents

Adventures in Learning

9:30 am

RED WING 

 

Thurs., May 3rd 

 

Cinco De Mayo

Festival Time

 

5-7pm

Holy Family Hall

St. Joseph's Church

 

 

Games, Musc,

Authentic Mexican Food

Fun for the whole family.

 

 

Sat. May 19th

 

Girls on the Run 5K

 

 

  

8:00 am

Red Wing High School

Register at

www.girlsontherunbc.org

Open to all, grab your kids, parents, friends and run with us

SHARE YOUR TALENTS WITH OTHERS