The Athens-Limestone County community helped replenish a local food pantry as part of the recent Stamp Out Hunger food drive.

A total of 48,000 pounds of food was collected, according to officials with the National Association of Letter Carriers and the U.S. Postal Service, which sponsored the 26th annual event May 12. The recipient of the community’s generosity was Women Empowering Women.

The group’s founder, Janice Williams, described the donation as “wonderful” and thanked the USPS, letter carriers and all those who donated.

“We had a great food drive earlier this year, but our supplies had gotten low,” she said. “There are many people in this community who depend on us for their next meal.”

Food drive organizers said nationwide hunger continues to be an issue, with 1 in 7 Americans unsure where they will eat tomorrow and many of those unsure being children. Stamp Out Hunger has collected more than 1 billion pounds of food since the drive began.

Though the food has been collected, it must still be sorted and organized for distribution. Anyone who would like to help is encouraged to call 256-233-5995 or 502-229-2276.

For more information on the annual food drive, visit https://bit.ly/21IeYcO.