On Saturday May 8th mail carriers in Edgerton and in many other communities collected donated food placed by mail boxes by local postal customers as part of the nation wide program to “Stamp Out Hunger”. I do not have an official count, but I believe that the Edgerton Food Pantry received over 6000 pounds of food!!!!! In years past ECO received between 2500 and 2800 pounds of food on average through this food drive.This great increase in donated food will really help Edgerton Outreach throughout the summer when donations of food items tend come in slower than other times of the year. This past winter an anonymous donor gave ECO $20,000 to benefit the food pantry. This donation paired with giving nature of our community has allowed ECO to keep the shelves stocked.
Having to visit a food pantry to supplement one’s food budget is often a hard choice for a family to make. People who visit the pantry for the first time often express feelings of shame or guilt because they do not want to ask for assistance. Being able to make the visit worthwhile for the family by having well stocked shelves helps ease these negative feelings for families needing help. I am thankful that we have such a wonderful resource in our community for people needing help in difficult financial times.