The bags left inside mailboxes across the nation had a simple message – “It’s not just a bag of food. It’s a bag of hope.”

On Saturday, Covington County residents took that message to heart and collected some 13,000 pounds of hope to deliver to their local neighbors in need.

The collection was held in conjunction with the National Association of Letter Carrier’s “Stamp Out Hunger” event.

Kolmetz said last year’s event collected 3,000 pounds, and said he felt the April 27 tornados across the state were one of the reasons for the 10,000-pound increase over last year’s collection.

“People are in a giving spirit,” he said. “Communities tend to give when (tragedy) hits close to home.”

Kolmetz said that the same can be said for post offices across the state.

“It’s good to see a community come together and support a cause that helps others that are less fortunate,” he said.

The food collected will be donated to the Christian Service Center.

Locally, the Christian Service Center distributes about 3,000 pounds of food weekly, and to meet that need the center relies on help from the community in the form of food donations and monetary donations.

Last year, the center gave away nearly 145,000 pounds of food.