Franklin Letter Carriers Help “Stamp Out Hunger” with Annual Food Drive

The Franklin Food Pantry and Franklin Letter Carriers held the annual “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive, on Saturday, May 10, 2025. The town-wide event, led by the letter carriers, raised nearly 9,000 pounds of food and household items, which equates to approximately 7,500 meals, for individuals and families who are experiencing hunger and financial hardship in Franklin, Massachusetts. The outpouring of support comes at a critical time for The Pantry. Demand for the nonprofit’s programs and services continues to increase, and the community’s support is essential to meeting the growing need.

The Pantry began preparations for this year’s Stamp Out Hunger in October 2024. Volunteers, including youth groups, local businesses, houses of worship, and retirement communities volunteered their time to assemble Stamp Out Hunger bundles that included instructions and a paper bag, donated by Allegra Print and Marketing and Central Paper Company, Inc. 

Mary Diehl and her daughter were among the many volunteers

A week prior to the event, letter carriers delivered the bundles to approximately 6,000 households in Franklin. On May 10, 2025, Franklin residents left donations of nonperishable food and goods by their mailboxes for letter carriers to collect along their route. Letter carriers brought the items to the Franklin Senior Center where volunteers set up stations to sort and organize the donations. The items will be distributed to clients through The Pantry’s several food assistance programs including Inside Shopping, Home Delivery, Mobile Pantries, Weekend Backpacks, Curbside Distribution, and more.

“Stamp Out Hunger plays a vital role in providing much-needed support to neighbors facing food insecurity and helps ensure The Pantry can provide nutritious food for individuals and families leading up to the summer months,” said Anne McGillis, Operations Director, Franklin Food Pantry. “We extend a heartfelt thank you to our amazing letter carriers, the Franklin Senior Center for generously providing space for the immense undertaking of receiving and sorting the donations, our dedicated volunteers who gave their time leading up to and on the day of the event, and the Franklin community for their ongoing generosity. It truly takes a village to combat food insecurity, and the overwhelming participation makes a tangible and profound difference in the lives of so many.”

Individuals, households, and businesses who did not receive a Pantry bundle or who did not have an opportunity to participate in Stamp Out Hunger can bring donations to the Franklin Food Pantry, 341 W Central St. in Franklin, and place items in the purple bin on the loading dock at the back of the building. Items can also be shipped directly through The Pantry’s Amazon Wish List.

Special thanks to the many individuals and groups who volunteered to help make this year’s Stamp Out Hunger a success including Benchmark Senior Living at Forge Hill, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Coldwell Banker Realty Franklin/Cumberland Regional Office, Dell Technologies, The Enclave of Franklin, Eversource Energy, First Universalist Society in Franklin, Franklin Federated Church, Franklin High School Boys Soccer Team, G&C Plumbing, Inc., The Language and Behavior Center (TLBC) New England, Liberty Mutual Insurance, Milford High School Football Team, Sensata Technologies, Station 117 Apartment Group, UDR Apartment Group.

Stamp Out Hunger 2026 will take place rain or shine on Saturday, May 9! 

To volunteer as an individual or group to help The Pantry with this or other upcoming events, please complete a volunteer application online: https://www.franklinfoodpantry.org/get-involved/volunteer/.

About the Franklin Food Pantry, Inc. 

The Franklin Food Pantry, Inc. offers supplemental food assistance, household necessities, and resource referrals to more than 1,800 individuals per year. The Pantry relies on donations and grants to purchase items and pay for daily operations, and partnerships with The Greater Boston Food Bank, Spoonfuls, and local grocery stores to achieve greater buying power and lower costs. Programs include Inside Shopping, Walk-in Shopping, Curbside Pickup, Emergency Food Bags, Mobile Pantries, Home Delivery, Kids’ Snack Bags, Weekend Backpacks, Holiday Meals, and the SNAP match at Franklin Farmers Market. The Pantry is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in good standing in Massachusetts, recognized by Charity Navigator as a Four-Star Charity, and awarded GuideStar’s Platinum Transparency ranking. The Pantry is located at 341 W Central St. in Franklin, MA on Route 140. Please visit www.franklinfoodpantry.org for more information.

Franklin Police share alert on multiple check thefts from Franklin Post Office

Via Franklin Police Department: 

"The Franklin Police Department Detectives and the Postal Inspection Service are currently investigating multiple check thefts from outside blue mail drop boxes including the outside drop box at the Main Street Post Office.  

A Postal Employee was robbed of a key to these boxes. As a result, several residents have placed checks to be mailed in these boxes. The suspects in this case have been opening the boxes, taking all of their contents, finding checks, and washing them. This means they are changing the checks in value and who they are deposited to. They then deposit these checks resulting in people being out thousands of dollars via this check scam. 

Residents and people using the Main Street Post Office are advised to use caution if using the outside drop box. 

If you can, use the box inside the Post Office or consider sending checks and other important mail a different way. 

If you see suspicious activity around the post office you’re encouraged to call 508-528-1212 or if you believe it’s an emergency 911."

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Franklin Police share alert on multiple check thefts from Franklin Post Office

Historic Happenings for February at the Franklin Historical Museum

February at the Franklin Historical Museum puts some love in the air and takes up the proposition that Silents are golden...

For Your Valentine's...

The Art and Commerce of Valentine's Cards

The Second Sunday Speaker Series at the museum continues on Feb. 12, 2024 with Postal Poetry: The Art and Commerce of Valentine's Cards. Historical Commission chair Alan Earls will explore the remarkably long story of Valentine's greetings and how entrepreneurs and new technologies turned sentiment into big business in the 19th century. The story includes key Massachusetts innovators like Louis Prang and pioneering woman business leader, Esther Howland – plus images of many beautiful old cards.  A limited number of free, vintage reprint sample cards will be available at the event. Doors open at 1 and the presentation begins at 1:15 at Franklin Historical Museum, 80 West Central Street, Franklin, MA. FREE

Feature Films Return

Safety Last

Later in the month, the Museum will welcome the public to Cinema 80 – a new program of films of the 20th century, curated by Chris Leverone in cooperation with the Franklin Senior Center. Leverone, a videographer and graphics artist from Franklin, has directed promotional and fundraising videos, and is currently a producer at Franklin TV and is extremely passionate about film. Silent Saturdays start at 6 PM on Feb. 17 and Feb. 24.

The Freshman

On Feb, 17 Cinema 80 will screen the first of two treasures by comic genius Harold Lloyd, Safety Last, an over-the-top version of a young man trying to make good in the big city story (in this case, bustling, Jazz-Age Los Angeles). Then, on Feb. 24 it's The Freshman, a hilarious look at college culture 100 years ago, (we are a college town after all!). Both films are about 75 minutes in length.

"We are excited to provide this free, innovative programming in a time slot that should leave people free to squeeze even more into their Saturday night," said Commission Chair Alan Earls. "The best of the silent films are amazing and just as entertaining as anything Hollywood is doing today, we are sure our Franklin audience will agree," he added.

The Franklin Historical Museum is located at 80 West Central Street, Franklin. The museum is open Saturday mornings from 10 AM - 1 PM and Sunday afternoons from 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM. When visiting the museum, please consider donating a non-perishable item for the Franklin Food Pantry.

National news: Post Office performance to slow mail; Some news orgs following Russian model

"Slower mail, fewer office hours part of Postal Service plans"

"Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Tuesday announced plans to slow mail delivery standards and cut hours at some post offices as part of a 10-year strategy to stabilize the struggling agency.

Details of the long-awaited plan come at a time of intense scrutiny on the US Postal Service over persistent delivery delays under DeJoy, a major GOP donor who took over the agency last summer. The plan also includes a proposal to consolidate underused post offices, hinted at a potential postage rate increase and detailed investments in new delivery vehicles, among other things.

Facing an expected $160 billion in losses over the next decade, DeJoy and postal executives stressed the need to cut costs and modernize the agency's operations as its workload increasingly shifts from handling letters to hauling more and more packages."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/03/24/business/slower-mail-fewer-office-hours-part-postal-service-plans/

 

"Specifically, Pomerantsev points to two major areas of strategic overlap. First, there’s a shared war on facts that tries to convince the viewer that accountability is a fool’s errand because true objectivity does not exist.

“There’s this kind of pop-postmodernism, where Sean Hannity will say things like objectivity doesn’t exist, everybody’s biased,” Pomerantsev says. He points to Hannity’s infamous interview with Ted Koppel, in which he contrasted his own style with what he sees as the charade of “objective” facts in other areas of the press. “I don’t pretend that I’m fair and balanced and objective,” Hannity bizarrely boasted.

“That’s exactly the same argument the Russians make,” Pomerantsev says. He recalls a famous phrase uttered by Dmitry Kiselev, a prime-time TV host who was also appointed by Vladimir Putin to run Kremlin’s international propaganda network, Rossiya Segodnya. “Objectivity is a myth that is proposed and imposed on us.”

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/03/23/he-worked-russian-media-he-recognizes-same-tactics-fox-news/

In the News: Trump administration blocked by ruling; US House calls Postmaster General to testify

 From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin: 

"A federal judge blocked the Trump administration on Monday from enforcing a new regulation that would roll back health care protections for transgender people.

Finalized days after the Supreme Court barred sex discrimination against LGBT individuals on the job, the regulation from the federal Department of Health and Human Services was to have taken effect Tuesday.

Monday’s preliminary injunction from U.S. District Court Judge Frederic Block in Brooklyn bars the administration from enforcing the regulation until the case can be heard in court and decided. Block indicated he thought the Trump administration’s so-called transgender rule is invalid in light of the Supreme Court ruling in June on a case involving similar issues in the context of job discrimination.

“When the Supreme Court announces a major decision, it seems a sensible thing to pause and reflect on the decision’s impact,” Block wrote in his order, suggesting the agency may want to reconsider. “Since HHS has been unwilling to take that path voluntarily, the court now imposes it.”

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required) https://www.milforddailynews.com/zz/news/20200817/trump-rule-on-transgender-health-blocked-at-11th-hour?rssfeed=true

"Facing a public backlash over mail disruptions, the Trump administration scrambled to respond Monday as the House prepared an emergency vote to halt delivery delays and service changes that Democrats warned could imperil the November election.

The Postal Service said it has stopped removing mailboxes and mail-sorting machines amid an outcry from lawmakers. President Donald Trump flatly denied he was asking for the mail to be delayed even as he leveled fresh criticism on universal ballots and mail-in voting.

“Wouldn’t do that,” Trump told reporters Monday at the White House. “I have encouraged everybody: Speed up the mail, not slow the mail.”

Embattled Postmaster General Louis DeJoy will testify next Monday before Congress, along with the chairman of the Postal Service board of governors."

 Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required) https://www.milforddailynews.com/zz/news/20200817/amid-outcry-postmaster-general-to-testify-before-house?rssfeed=true

US House calls Postmaster General to testify