Weather woes for food drive
The annual Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive had fewer donations this year, in part because of inclement weather.
Inclement weather the weekend of May 10 and 11 impacted several local events, including the annual Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, which took place Saturday. The event also was hampered this year by a lack of funding for promotional materials to let folks know it was taking place.
Interfaith Emergency Services is the lead agency in Marion County for the annual drive and also for routinely serving a large number of local people in need. The food drive is always a key element in restocking the food warehouse through which so many get help.
“The 2025 Stamp Out Hunger food drive had its challenges. From missing some important marketing tools to extreme weather, our wonderful letter carriers still delivered 73,000 pounds of food to the Interfaith pantry,” said Karla Greenway, CEO of Interfaith.
“Thanks to the help from hundreds of volunteers and Marion County residents who participated, and His Compassion, a key partner that stepped up to help us transport food, enough food was collected to sustain the Interfaith grocery assistance program through July. Compared to previous years, this amount was down considerably, but we are still extremely grateful for every item donated,” Greenway added.
“Due to the weather on Saturday, some neighborhoods didn’t get picked up and we hope they will drop the food donations off at their closest post office or at Interfaith, at 450 NW 2nd St. in downtown Ocala,” Greenway noted.
Greenway said IES has 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 stated in an earlier “Gazette” article. “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.”
To learn more, go to iesmarion.org
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