By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

The national letter carriers food drive is Saturday, May 9, and it comes at the perfect time for the Community Assistance Center in Hays.

“We have a lot of kids who will be out of school for the summer soon and our pantry is really low right now,” said Laurie Mortinger, CAC co-director.

“We’re looking for all kinds of things–macaroni and cheese is always a good one, peanut butter, tuna, Hamburger Helper mixes–things like that.

“I tell people to see what (non-perishable) things are on sale–get a good buy and get more food for us,” she suggested.

Josh Robben has taken over the project at the Hays post office from his father Lester Robben, who was in charge of the event for many years.

“It’s a neat feeling when we come in in the afternoon with our trucks loaded with food,” Robben said. “It’s almost like a contest to see who collected the most donations.”

Last year, the Hays letter carriers collected 6,800 pounds of food for the CAC, according to Robben.

“We average between 6,000 and 7,000 pounds each year,” he said.

Food donations may be left at your mailbox Saturday morning to be picked up by the Hays letter carriers during their regular routes.

“Be sure to wrap everything in two or three plastic bags,” Mortinger urged. “It’s supposed to rain and I feel like it’s a sin if I have to throw out a boxed food that got wet.”

If you miss Saturday’s drive, you can bring your food donations directly to the CAC next week. The center, located at the corner of 12th and Oak Streets, is open Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“We’ll be including all the donations during the week after Saturday’s event in the mail carriers’ count,” Mortinger said.