To the editor:
During the National Association of Letter Carriers Food Drive on Saturday, May 9 people in Wilton donated 17,640 pounds of food to benefit the P2P Food Pantry in Norwalk.
While we live in an affluent area, many of our neighbors in Fairfield County are living in poverty (9.6%) and struggling with food insecurity (11.7% overall; 16.4% of children). The food donations from the Wilton community, valued at more than $35,000, will be used to provide more than 2,100 people with enough food to prepare three meals a day for seven days.
Your generosity does make a difference in the lives of others. As one P2P Food Pantry client stated during a recent study we conducted, “I don’t know if there would be another option. I would probably be hungry.”
The timing of this bounty is particularly important because the summer months bring a higher demand for food, as many P2P clients are faced with providing three meals a day to children who, during the school year, receive free or reduced meals.
Thanks to your food donations, and the annual “Stamp Out Hunger” Food Drive by the National Association of Letter Carriers, many individuals and families in Wilton, Westport, Weston and Norwalk will know where their next meal is coming from.
Troy Ellen Dixon
Person-to-Person