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Although most people don’t pay them much attention, mail carriers play a crucial role in today’s society. Their dedication to nationwide communication over the last century has been not only impressive, but a necessity. However, on May 8th, these people will be doing more than just delivering the mail. KSMU’s Royal Yates spoke with a local mail carrier as she was making her daily deliveries to get more information about the big impact they’re hoping to make this weekend.
Tammie Yates, a postal carrier in Springfield, spends about eight hours delivering mail to roughly 700 residences each day. While some might think the daily routine could get a little old, Tammie says mail carriers see their community in a way that most people would never imagine. They see the good as well as the bad.
“As a carrier, we go to every house every day and we see people without jobs - people in need - and it pulls at our hearts to help them out.”
This might be what led the National Association of Letter Carriers to begin the country’s largest one day food drive that Springfield carriers hope will help “Stamp Out Hunger.”
On Saturday, May 8th, people can leave non-perishable food donations in or near their mailboxes for their mail carriers to pick up. For those in Springfield, donations will be disbursed to the Salvation Army, The Kitchen, Grand Oak Mission, and Victory Mission. Surrounding areas will give donated items to food pantries in their own towns.
Yates says this movement is an ongoing tradition that started back in the early nineties.
“Some carriers down in Florida started it locally, and it just grew across the nation. We’ve actually collected over 982 million pounds [of food] over the last 18 years.”
Some might consider having to pick up all these extra donations a big hassle to the carriers as they go on their routes, but Yates says that she doesn’t mind the inconvenience at all.
“I’m told from the food banks that there are more people reaching out for help than ever before – people who have never even reached out to them before. I feel like neighbors should help neighbors. There’s a lot of people in need right now, and that’s the right thing to do – help people when they’re down.”
Donations in apartment complexes, nursing homes, or other residences that may not have individual mailboxes can be left wherever the mail can be checked and retrieved.
For KSMU News, I’m Royal Yates.