Did you notice a grocery bag mixed with your mail this week?
Use it to leave canned goods to donate to the Connecticut Food Bank this Saturday.
A press release follows:
People from all walks of life are thankful recipients of the generosity from local and regional food banks. Many times it is for people who you’d never even think needed assistance.
One of those food banks, the Seymour Oxford Food Bank, is right here in the Naugatuck Valley and wants to let the community know they and other food banks are in constant need of help.
And an easy way to donate is by participating in the “Stamp Out Hunger” National Food Drive, taking place on Saturday, May 14.
Every second Saturday in May, letter carriers in more than 10,000 cities and towns across America collect the goodness and compassion of their postal customers, who participate in the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) “Stamp Out Hunger” National Food Drive — the largest one-day food drive in the nation. Carriers collect non-perishable food donations left by mailboxes and in post offices nationwide and deliver them to local community food banks, pantries and shelters.
To make a donation, just place a box or can of non-perishable food next to your mailbox before your letter carrier delivers the mail on the 14th. You can also bring donations to any post office. — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
The Seymour Oxford Clergy Association established the Seymour Oxford Food Bank (SOFB) in 1979 to meet the growing request for food assistance within the church communities for members who fell below the poverty level. In 1981, SOFB was made available to all the residents of Seymour and Oxford and became a member of the Valley Food Bank Networks. It is governed by a board of directors and run by a lean staff of volunteers. SOFB in the process of becoming an incorporated 501© non-profit organization.
Last December, SOFB moved to its new location at 20 Pine Street in Seymour.
Volunteers work on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:00am ‑11:00am to prepare the shelves for clients, who shop on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 am – noon.
“Clients can now self-shop and are no longer just given pre-pack bags of groceries, to help give them more dignity to provide for their families in tough times,” said Toni Cassidy, SOFB Director, who has been with the organization for 10 years. “We see lots of single moms and a wide variety of people, many who were recently laid off or overwhelmed with large medical bills. Many people who we can help don’t even know we are here. Summer is coming and it’s the slowest donation time of the year. We can always use more volunteers to help collect food and stock our shelves.”
To volunteer or find out more about the Seymour Oxford Food Bank, call 203 – 888-7826.
