“I’ve never seen so many people struggling…”
The Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive on May 10 will help people in Marion County who are having trouble buying groceries and paying bills.
Maxi Rodriguez, the Food Distribution Manager, looks over empty shelves with very little food in the Reuben Brawner Center Warehouse Food Pantry at Interfaith Emergency Services on Northwest 2nd Street in Ocala, Fla. on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. Interfaith Emergency Services will get some help restocking their food shelves on Saturday, May 10, when the Stamp Out Hunger Letter Carrier Food Drive will be held. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2025.
Interfaith Emergency Services is one of the leading agencies in Marion County that helps people struggling just to get by, or who are in crisis. Karla Greenway, the agency’s chief executive officer, said they have seen a 25% increase in new clients so far this year.
“In the 14 years I’ve been here, I’ve never seen so many people struggling to pay for groceries, pay their utilities and keep up with the rent. And many are people on fixed incomes who never thought they would need this type of assistance,” she said.
That is one reason the national Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, which will take place nationally on May 10, is important on a local level.
“This food drive is critical for our services through the summer months, when we see an increase due to children being out of school. Many families, especially those with children or senior citizens living on social security retirement benefits, look to us to make ends meet,” Greenway explained.
The majority of the food stays in Interfaith’s pantry and goes to the homes of residents of Marion County. The food generally sustains us through August, combined with the food we pick up from local grocery stores each week, Greenway said of the annual food drive.
“Interfaith is open five days each week and serves approximately 500 households weekly. Clients may come once per month and receive enough food to last four to six days. For many, this allows them to pay for other bills such as housing or utilities,” Greenway said.
“Some of the food items will also be used to support our Food4Kids Program, which sends weekend meals home with children in partnership with local schools. This program feeds as many as 1,800 children every weekend,” she added.
“The food collected at the Maricamp Post Office will be shared with the Help Agency of the Forest. This is a wonderful agency that helps families living in poverty in the Ocala National Forest area. One hundred percent of the food collected stays in Marion County and helps people in our community,” Greenway stated.
Interfaith, which has been in operation for 42 years, has been participating in the annual letter carrier’s food drive for 30 years.
“For most of those years, Marion County was number one in the nation for the amount of food collected for our size community,” Greenway shared.
The easiest way to support the drive is to put some canned goods or boxes of non-perishable food by your mailbox on the morning of May 10. Letter carriers will collect the items on their routes. Donors also may leave food at US Postal Service branch locations leading up to and the day of the drive.
“And you can always drop off food at our Interfaith food distribution warehouse at 450 NW 2nd St. or at our thrift store at 718 N. Pine Ave., Ocala,” Greenway noted.
According to the National Association of Letter Carrier’s website, “Each year, letter carriers across the country head out on their routes on the second Saturday in May to collect donations of non-perishable food items to benefit local food pantries. Since launching in 1993, the National Association of Letter Carriers’ annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive has grown into the nation’s largest one-day food drive, helping to fill the shelves of food banks in cities and towns throughout the United States.”
In addition to local donations of food, volunteers are needed to help with the campaign in Marion County.
“We can always use volunteers to help at our campus and at the Maricamp and Paddock Post Office locations. We also need people who can drive behind some of the carriers to help pick up food. Volunteers can contact our food distribution manager Maxi Rodriguez at (352) 274-3008,” Greenway said.
She said the letter carrier’s union lost some of its funding for marketing materials for this year’s drive, meaning, “We really need help getting the word out.”
“Please remind your friends and neighbors to put their bags out on May 10. We need as many people as possible to participate to make this year’s drive a success. With everyone doing a little on this one day, Interfaith and the Help Agency of the Forest can do BIG things to help families for the next few months,” she said.
To learn more, go to iesmarion.org and nalc.org/community-service/food-drive
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