Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Tough economic times did not dampen Key West's spirit of generosity on Saturday, when the island's 50 mail carriers collected 10 tons of food for the annual National Association of Letter Carriers Food Drive.

That was 1,000 pounds more than last year's collection.

Countywide, postal workers collected nearly 15 tons of food that will remain in their respective communities.

Mail carrier Bob Killen has been organizing Key West's participation in the Stamp Out Hunger food drive for the past 16 years and said he was pleasantly surprised by this year's haul.

On the day of the food drive, residents simply place nonperishable food items next to their mailboxes.

"Every single can collected in Key West stays in Key West, and every can collected in Big Pine stays in Big Pine," Killen said.

This year in Key West, the food went to St. Mary's Soup Kitchen, Glad Tidings Tabernacle, Florida Keys Outreach Coalition for the Homeless, Bethel AME Church, St. James Church and Metropolitan Community Church.

"There is enough hunger here in Key West, believe it or not," Killen said, adding that rural letter carriers from the Middle and Upper Keys also participated in their own communities.

In Tavernier, carriers collected 1,500 pounds of food, postmaster Eddie Suarez reported.

"It was more than last year, which really surprised me," Suarez said.

Those donations are sent to Burton Memorial Church's food bank.

Carriers in Summerland, Big Pine, Marathon and Islamorada also participated. Eleven carriers be-tween Sunshine Key and Sugarloaf Key, which includes Big Pine and Summerland, collected 7,000 pounds of food for the Big Pine Community Food Bank, said postal supervisor Helen Sullivan.

Several area churches use the food bank, which feeds 85 to 100 families each week.

"We had 11 carriers, plus about 30 volunteers from the Boy Scouts out there helping," Sullivan said.

"This food is not just for homeless people under a bridge, it's for anyone who's fallen on hard times in this economy, and I'm sure the need is greater this year compared to last year," Killen said.

mbolen@keysnews.com