Like Milwaukee County, Waukesha County also saw a decrease in food collected in Saturday's Stamp Out Hunger food drive, officials said Tuesday.
A total of 78,470 pounds of food was collected Saturday, down 8.7% from the 85,900 pounds collected in 2008, Food Pantry of Waukesha County associate director Michael Jonas said.
He blamed the dip on the ailing economy, saying fewer people were able to participate this year. But he said the pantry, which is seeing double-digit increases in visits compared to 2008, was grateful for all donations.
'This is truly a considerable source of food that will keep our shelves stocked during the next few months,' he said.
In Milwaukee County, the 446,000 pounds of food collected by U.S. Postal Service mail carriers also was down from previous years, according to the Hunger Task Force.