Lafayette community takes part in nationwide food drive

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - The Greater Lafayette community joined the nationwide effort Saturday to fight hunger.

The cars piled in, the food was sorted, and crates were filled.

The Greater Lafayette area took part in the National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive Saturday.

Executive Director of Food Finders Food Bank Katy Bunder said nearly 28,000 people in Tippecanoe County are food insecure. She said that's why food drives like this one are important.

"In addition to collecting all this food, it really makes everybody feel like we're working together to help those who are less fortunate," said Bunder.

Bunder said 8,200 of the people in Tippecanoe County who are food-insecure are children. She said that's why Food Finders' largest one-day food drive came just in the nick of time.

"It falls when children are about to be out of school. So families that have been relying on breakfast and lunch for their children at school are now going to have to feed their children three meals a day instead of one," said Bunder.

Bunder said this year's goal for the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive was to raise 70,000 pounds of food.

Residents were sent an invitation and a plastic bag in the mail to set out non-perishable food items in the mail Saturday. The letter carriers then picked those items up and took them to one of four drop-off locations throughout Lafayette.

State Representative Shelia Klinker was at the post office on State Road 26, along with several other volunteers, to help sort the food.

"I know how much this means to those that are just maybe at that point where they're working, just not making enough to last to the end of the month to have enough food for their families," said Klinker.

Klinker said the annual event is a great example of how citizens in the Greater Lafayette community can come together to help one another.