For rural areas with little else, the post office is the heartbeat of the community. And closing it would be the equivalent of losing a dear friend, a sense of security and a local landmark all in one. More: continued here

CBS News Grant to boost use of food stamps at farmers marketsPennLive.comWASHINGTON _ Farmers markets are a popular source of reasonably priced fresh produce, but across the country many accept only cash or checks _ a big problem for low-income shoppers using food stamps. The US Department of Agriculture is …

Postal Service considers plan to cut hours at rural post officesAppleton Post CrescentAP and Gannett Wisconsin Media The US Postal Service is considering cutting hours at 385 rural Wisconsin post offices over the next two years as part of a nationwide strategy to save about $500 million a year. That …

US Postal Service will keep rural post offices openLittle Falls Evening TimesThe Mohawk Post Office, at 25 Columbia St., will see reduced hours as part of massive cuts within the United States Post Office. By Hope Yen Bending to strong public opposition, the nearly bankrupt US Postal Service on Wednesday …

A farmers market at Lawson State Community College is now allowing customers to use food stamps to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables. More: continued here

Rural Pennsylvania community relieved its post office won't closePittsburgh Post GazettePriscilla Byzon, the officer in charge of the Coulters Post Office, hands mail to town resident Ken Logston today. Priscilla Byzon is the Coulters Post Office's only full-time employee. The branch would see its hours reduced from eight hours a …

Rural Post Offices won't shut down but cut backcbs4qc.comMore than 75 rural post offices in the Quad City area were expected to close their doors until now. "It's going to make them really happy that they don't have to go anywhere for their mailing," said Judy Bowlyou, Pleasant Valley Post …

The quaint rural post office, an iconic image all but synonymous with Americana, apparently will not suffer the fate of the full-service gas station. More: continued here

LESTER, Ala. (AP) — A local business is stepping in after the U.S. Postal Service closed the town branch. The Barn Feed and Seed in Lester will be the location of Alabama's first Village Post Office. The service considers village post offices in locations where communities have no existing post …

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Postal Service announced a new strategy today that could keep the nation's smallest Post Offices open for business, while providing a framework to achieve significant cost savings as part of the plan to return the organization to financial stability. The plan would keep the existing Post …