The United States Post Office in Cottage Grove, Minnesota is ready to fight back against hunger in the community on Saturday, May 11. Partnering with the 2024 Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, postal carriers will collect non-perishable food item donations that residents can leave at their mailboxes and the Cottage Grove Post Office will bring them to Friends in Need Food Shelf in St. Paul Park, Minnesota. Started in 1992, Friends in Need Food Shelf is a community-funded food shelf that provides food and resources to those in need Newport, Grey Cloud Island, St. Paul Park, and Cottage Grove.
According to the National Association of Letter Carriers, “In the 30 years since it began, the food drive has collected approximately 1.9 billion pounds of food for those in need.” Alec Thurmes, a postal carrier and Union Representative at the Cottage Grove Post Office, says that donations have taken a downward trend since the covid pandemic. “Last year was a little tougher,” he said. Still, Thurmes remains hopeful. “We are looking to come back stronger.” Leave a bag of non-perishable food items near your mailbox on Saturday and together we can work to stop hunger in the Cottage Grove area.
