June 4, 2007

Students Learn About Eating Healthy As Annual Stamp Out Hunger Week Begins

First-graders from Rochester City School No. 33 Get Hands-On Science Lesson During Farm Tour

Rochester, NY – A group of first-graders from Rochester City School District No. 33 went ‘down on the farm’ this morning and learned that making healthy eating choices can be easy and cool, too. The students got to tour Freshlink Farms in Penfield to see first hand how vegetables are grown using hydroponics – the science of growing plants indoors using mineral nutrient solutions instead of soil. At the end of the tour, each student got to plant a seed to take back to the classroom to watch grow.

The event helped to kick-off our area’s 16th annual Stamp Out Hunger week, an effort of our local National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 210, and United Way. For one week each year, the letter carriers collect food to help replenish the shelves of local food pantries.

“Hunger is a serious problem that affects so many people right in our own neighborhoods,” said Art Muoio, President, NALC Branch 210. “It’s important that we make sure food is available to families who need it, but also, given our country’s obesity epidemic, it’s important that we teach the youngest members of our community how to make healthy eating choices, and show them how easy it can be.”

Freshlink Farms, the first hydroponic farm of its kind in Monroe County, distributes fresh food throughout the Rochester area, with a portion of the proceeds from each sale going to hunger relief in our area. It’s during the summer months, when school is out and subsidized meal programs end, that the demand is greatest on local food pantries, because many families turn to local food cupboards for help.

“A number of families in our city and in our suburbs live at or below poverty level, and the challenge of making ends meet and having food to put on the table is very real to so many people,” said Karl Anderson, Postmaster.

Stamp Out Hunger runs from June 4-9 throughout neighborhoods in Monroe, Livingston, Ontario, Orleans, Yates and Wayne Counties. Residents are asked to help by leaving non-perishable, non-breakable food items at their mailboxes. Suggested items include: peanut butter, macaroni and cheese, crackers, cereal, juice boxes, pasta, canned fruit, canned vegetables, soups, or tuna fish.

Sponsors of this year’s Stamp Put Hunger drive include: the National Association of Letter Carriers – Branch 210, American Postal Workers Union 215, United States Postal Services, New York Rural Letter Carriers Association, United Way of Greater Rochester, Warm 101.3, 13 WHAM-TV, and Wegmans.



United Way’s mission is to magnify and focus the power of community resources to address our most pressing social needs.