The St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church in Land O’ Lakes wants to extend its appreciation to the Lutz community for its generous donation of more than 16,000 pounds of food during the recent U.S. Postal Service letter carriers’ campaign, Stamp Out Hunger.
The pantry also extends its thanks to Boy Scout Troop 33, the Fraternity of Men and many other volunteers for boxing, weighing and storing the donations picked up by the letter carriers.
“Sixteen thousand pounds of food fills approximately 450 banana boxes. To store, box and store that amount of food for future distribution to the hungry is a massive undertaking. We couldn’t do it without their help,” said John Hofmann, council president, St. Vincent de Paul, in a note drafted to the community and sent to The Laker/Lutz News.
This year’s donations surpassed last year’s donations by 3,000 pounds.
Former council president Sharon Turner added, “At a time when food insecurity is on the rise, it is a blessing that the community responded so generously.”
The Stamp Out Hunger campaign began in 1993 and is the country’s largest single-day food drive. It is held on the second Saturday in May and letter carriers in cities and towns across the United States collect donations of nonperishable food items left by residents near their mailboxes.
The St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry is part of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, a voluntary international Catholic organization founded in 1833 in service to the poor.
The pantry at Our Lady of the Rosary, 2348 Collier Parkway, distributes food to families on Thursdays and Fridays.
For more about the food pantry, visit https://ladyrosary.org/svdp.
Published May 22, 2024
