ANCHORAGE — More than a thousand pounds of food intended to feed homeless youth have been stolen, Anchorage police said.
The food had been collected during this year’s annual Stamp Out the Hunger event conducted by the National Association of Letter Carriers. The estimated $1,000 worth of food was reported stolen in late June, according to KTUU-TV.
The food went missing from a shed at Anchorage Community Mental Health Services, where it was being stored until it could make its way to Alaska Youth Advocates, an organization that serves homeless and at-risk youth.
“We’ve had theft from our properties before, but we’ve never had food stolen,” said Jennifer Smerud, ACHMS community relations director.
The stolen items include Ramen noodles, canned vegetables and other items easy for children to carry and prepare, Smerud said.
“It’s just devastating to think that these donations have been taken,” the agency’s chief operating officer, Mike Sobocinski, said in a Tuesday news release. “People gave so generously to homeless youth, and now it is gone.”
A suspect has not been located, but an investigation is ongoing Anchorage police spokeswoman Renee Oistad said.
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