GROCERY RUN; POST OFFICE REALLY DELIVERS FOR NEEDY.Byline: Michael Coit Daily News Staff Writer Food banks were busy stocking shelves Monday with nonperishables collected by Postal Service postal service, arrangements made by a government for the transmission of letters, packages, and periodicals, and for related services. Early courier systems for government use were organized in the Persian Empire under Cyrus, in the Roman Empire, and in medieval letter carriers in Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. , Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. and other Ventura County communities over the weekend. While some reported that less food was collected this year than last, the donated canned goods including canned meats, pasta, rice, beans, cereals, powdered milk, crackers and personal-care items were significant in the national letter carriers' sixth annual drive. Food bank officials said the county's portion of food collected by the letter carriers is as much as one-third of all food they give away each year. ``We didn't get as much as last year, but it was still a good amount,'' said Pauline Saterbo, administrator for the Manna Conejo Valley The Conejo Valley is a region spanning both Southeastern Ventura County and Northwest Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States. It was discovered in 1542 by Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, and eventually became part of the Rancho El Conejo land grant by Food Bank. ``This one is always such a big help to us. When people donate for this one, we seem to get just about everything we need, a wonderful variety.'' The timing of the May drive is critical for Care and Share, the Simi Valley food bank, because it keeps shelves filled through summer when school-based drives are not going, said Willa Dobbs, the organization's director. ``It sure filled our shelves,'' she said. ``We used to run out in the summer, but we don't anymore.'' Dobbs estimated that the drive brought in 12 tons, or about one-fourth of what Care and Share gives annually to some 500 hungry families and senior citizens with low incomes. Saterbo didn't have an estimate on tonnage TONNAGE, mar. law. The capacity of a ship or vessel. 2. The act of congress of March 2, 1799, s. 64, 1 Story's L. U. S. 630, directs that to ascertain the tonnage of any ship or vessel, the surveyor, &c. of food collected across the Conejo Valley, but it was enough to keep more than a dozen volunteers busy at the post offices in Thousand Oaks and Agoura Hills and at the food bank until late Saturday evening and again Monday. ``A lot of it goes out as fast as it comes in,'' Saterbo noted. Manna serves 2,800 to 3,800 individuals each month. The nonperishables are combined with meat, eggs, margarine margarine, manufactured substitute for butter. It consists of a blend of vegetable oils or meat fats (or a combination of both) mixed with milk and salt. It was developed in the late 1860s by the French chemist Hippolyte Mège-Mouries in a contest sponsored by and milk into grocery bags given away twice each month, based on an individual's needs, Saterbo said. ``We're here to help during the bad times, and hopefully we will help people get back on their feet again,'' she said. ``We couldn't run Manna without everyone's help, and this is an important part of it.'' Food Share, the food bank that serves most of the county's programs to feed the hungry, reported that donations were down somewhat from the nearly 28 tons received last year. ``It was a little bit less. I think it was more the word didn't get out as much as before,'' said Jim Mangis, Food Share's executive director. ``We still got piles of food. The food looks really good - the right kinds, the right variety.'' Mangis said the food will be sorted and distributed to participating agencies over the next two weeks. ``This far-reaching, high-spirited event comes at a very critical time every year, when our supply of canned and nonperishable foods is very depleted de·plete tr.v. de·plet·ed, de·plet·ing, de·pletes To decrease the fullness of; use up or empty out. [Latin d ,'' Mangis said. ``Who else but the letter carriers can pick up food from every household in Ventura County in one day? Amazing a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. .'' The food gathering is sponsored annually by the National Association of Letter Carriers The National Association of Letter Carriers (or NALC) is a labor union for employees of the United States Postal Service who serve as letter carriers (informally, "mail carriers", "mailmen", or "postmen", although many are now in fact female). , the U.S. Postal Service The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) processes and delivers mail to individuals and businesses within the United States. The service seeks to improve its performance through the development of efficient mail-handling systems and operates its own planning and engineering programs. and the various food banks. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO (Color) (Ran in Conejo Edition only) Volunteer Doris Bienchini, left, and Pauline Saterbo, administrator of the Manna food bank, sort food mail carriers collected for the needy. Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News |
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