9,700 Pounds of Food Donated to Support Families Facing Food Insecurity
Food insecurity affects an estimated 10.7% of New Hampshire residents—about 1 in 9 people.
On Saturday, May 10, Granite United Way joined the National Association of Letter Carriers for the annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, and thanks to the dedication of our volunteers, sponsors, and partners, it was a huge success across both Merrimack County and Northern New Hampshire.
Together, volunteers in both regions helped collect, sort, and package more than 9,700 pounds of food donations to support local families facing food insecurity.
In Merrimack County, 22 volunteers gathered at the NH Distributors Warehouse in Concord, where they sorted and packed 4,948 pounds of food collected by letter carriers. Meanwhile, in Northern NH, the dedicated Silver Riders Club collected over 4,800 pounds of donations.
These efforts are especially meaningful given that more than 16,500 residents of Merrimack County alone face food insecurity, including over 4,000 children. And in Coös County, the New Hampshire Food Bank reports that the region consistently faces the highest rates of food insecurity in the state, with 3,440 individuals (13.3% of the population) affected. Even more concerning, 21.1% of children in Coös County are considered food insecure. Every can, box, and bag of food makes a real difference.
This community-wide effort wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our generous sponsors and partners:
Local Sponsors:
- Nathan Wechsler & Company
- Bangor Savings Bank
- Rotary Club of Concord
- A House to Home Realty
- NH Food Bank
- Harvest Christian Fellowship
In-Kind Donors:
- Berlin Marketplace - for water, cookies, paper plates and napkins
- NH Distributors - for warehouse space and bottled water for volunteers
- Graphic Packaging International - for providing boxes to pack donations
- Sal’s Pizza - for donating eight XL pizzas for volunteer lunch
- Hannaford (Ft. Eddy Rd.) and Shaw’s (D’Amante Dr.) - for gift cards and handbaskets
All food donations were distributed through the New Hampshire Food Bank, ensuring immediate impact in the communities that need it most.