Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive coming up; goal set for 10k pounds

The FISH Food Pantry of Montgomery County invites the community to donate any non-perishable food items for the national Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, an initiative by the National Association of Letter Carriers.

Starting on the morning of Saturday, May 9, postal workers across the country are going to gather donated food items left at mailboxes. These bags will then be sent to the post office in Crawfordsville, where items will be distributed amongst local food pantries like Grace & Mercy, Mountie Mission, and FISH. Volunteers are needed to help pack food.

Some of the most requested food donations this year are rice, peanut butter, soups, jelly, ramen noodles, corn flour, and protein shakes. Other non-perishable foods such as canned chicken and tuna are needed.

“There’s been an increase [in attendants] at FISH,” said Ellen Simpson, operations coordinator of FISH Food Pantry of Montgomery County. “We’re looking at 550-600 families coming in per month, or about 1,800 individuals in 2026.”

“The trend is down for food donations,” said Jerry Whipkey, a volunteer for FISH. “Our record was 32,000 pounds [donated] in 1999; the last 10 years have been less than 10,000.”

The goal for this year’s Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive in Montgomery County is 10,000 pounds.

WCDQ had the chance to talk with Simpson and Whipkey at the station. Listen to the full conversation below.

To learn more about the FISH Food Pantry of Montgomery County, click or tap here. They are also active on their Facebook page, which can be found here.