Fulton residents participated in the annual letter carriers' Stamp Out Hunger food drive on May 13 by bringing food and money.
"We are so appreciative of the Fulton community for participating in this annual drive," food bank spokeswoman Janese Silvey said. "While this is a national drive, it really is about neighbors helping neighbors."
The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri, and its partner agencies in Audrain County, participated in the National Association of Letter Carriers' annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive.
This year, Stamp out Hunger celebrated its 25th anniversary as the largest single-day food drive in the country. With the help of partner pantries, the food bank collected a total of 132,546 pounds of food and $59,750 across its 32-county service area. Fulton residents contributed 3,010 pounds of food and $2,338 to that total.
Because of the food bank's purchasing power, the organization is able to purchase $21 with every $1 gift. That means the money raised during this drive will lead to $49,098 worth of groceries. The food and fund donations combined will provide more than 28,000 meals to people in need in Audrain County.
In Audrain County,the food bank works with the Help Center, St. John's Catholic Food Pantry and seven schools through the Buddy Pack program. In 2016, the food bank distributed more than 1.1 million pounds of food to Audrain County residents in need.